Rio Grande Dam is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

in Hinsdale County,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

impounding the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

. Built between 1910 and 1914 by the San Luis Valley Irrigation District to store water for agriculture in the

San Luis Valley The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The valley is approximately long and wide, extending from the Continental Divide on the northwest rim into New Mexico on the south. It co ...

, Rio Grande Dam is an earth and rock fill dam high and long. The dam impounds the Rio Grande Reservoir, with a capacity of . The dam and reservoir are situated at an elevation of about southwest of Creede, several miles below the

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

of the Rio Grande.

References

{{coord, 37, 43, 15, N, 107, 16, 01, W, display=title Dams in Colorado Dams on the Rio Grande United States local public utility dams Dams completed in 1914 1914 establishments in Colorado

See also

References