Shadow Mountain Dam is a zoned

earth-fill dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

on the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

Grand County, Colorado Grand County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,717. The county seat is Hot Sulphur Springs. History When Grand County was created February 2, 1874 it was carved out of Summit C ...

. Constructed between 1944 and 1946, the Shadow Mountain Dam creates the

Shadow Mountain Lake Shadow Mountain Lake is a reservoir in Grand County, Colorado, near the headwaters of the Colorado River. Shadow Mountain Lake is created by Shadow Mountain Dam. The lake forms a continuous body of water with Grand Lake, the largest natural lake ...

, with a structural height of and a drainage area of . Shadow Mountain Lake is a holding reservoir for water pumped up from

Lake Granby Lake Granby is the third largest body of water in Colorado. It was created by the erection of Granby Dam, completed in 1950, as part of the Bureau of Reclamation's Colorado-Big Thompson Project. Water from Lake Granby is pumped via the Farr Pump ...

just to the south through the Granby Pumping Plant and Canal. Shadow Mountain Lake is connected by a short channel to the natural Grand Lake. The west portal of the

Alva B. Adams Tunnel The Alva B. Adams Tunnel is the principal component of the largest transmountain water project in Colorado, the Colorado-Big Thompson Project (C-BT). The tunnel transfers water from the western slope of the Colorado River drainage to the eastern F ...

is located on Grand Lake. The Adams Tunnel diverts west slope water to the east slope of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

for use in agriculture and to serve the populated areas of Colorado, including

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

References

External links

Shadow Mountain Dam website
Dams on the Colorado River Buildings and structures in Grand County, Colorado United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Dams completed in 1946 Dams in Colorado 1946 establishments in Colorado {{US-dam-stub