Crystal Reservoir is a 340-acre artificial reservoir on the

Gunnison River The Gunnison River is located in western Colorado, United States and is one of the largest tributaries of the Colorado River. Description The river flows east to west and has a drainage area of according to the USGS. The drainage basin of the ...

in western

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. Located in the upper

Black Canyon of the Gunnison Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in western Colorado and managed by the National Park Service. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison was establishe ...

, the lake was created in 1976 by the U.S.

Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it ...

as part of a larger plan to impound the upper section of the Gunnison for the generation of hydroelectric power, water storage, and public recreation. Crystal Reservoir is managed by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

as an element of the

Curecanti National Recreation Area Curecanti National Recreation Area (Pronounced (locally) or .) is a National Park Service unit located on the Gunnison River in western Colorado. Established in 1965, Curecanti National recreation area, National Recreation Area is responsible f ...

. Located at the far western end of Curecanti, Crystal Reservoir is the smallest, least developed, and least accessible of the three reservoirs within the park.

Background

Crystal Reservoir is part of the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit of the

Colorado River Storage Project The Colorado River Storage Project is a United States Bureau of Reclamation project designed to oversee the development of the upper Colorado drainage basins, basin of the Colorado River. The project provides Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric powe ...

, a Bureau of Reclamation project that retains the waters of the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

and its tributaries, such as the Gunnison, for agricultural and municipal use. Crystal Reservoir was created by the impoundment of the Gunnison River approximately 6 miles west of

Morrow Point Dam Morrow Point Dam is a concrete double-arch dam on the Gunnison River located in Colorado, the first dam of its type built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Located in the upper Black Canyon of the Gunnison, it creates Morrow Point Reservoir, a ...

by Crystal Dam, a 323-ft. concrete double-arch dam built by the

. The last of three reservoirs impounded for the Aspinall Unit, construction on Crystal Dam began in 1973, 5 years after the completion of Morrow Point Dam and 7 years after the completion of Blue Mesa Dam. The westernmost of the three reservoirs, Crystal is the last impoundment before the river enters the deep and dangerous

Recreation

Crystal Reservoir is part of the

, a

administered area responsible for developing and managing recreation facilities on the three reservoirs of the Aspinall Unit. Recreational opportunities at Crystal include boating (hand-carried craft only), camping, and hiking. There are two small developed areas near the reservoir, Mesa Creek Trailhead and Crystal Creek Trailhead. Mesa Creek Trailhead is located immediately west of Point Morrow Dam, and can be accessed from a one-mile road running north of U.S. 50 at Cimarron. Hand-launched watercraft can be launched into Crystal from Mesa Creek. A single boat-in campsite is located approximately 4 miles west of Mesa Creek at the mouth of Crystal Creek. Mesa Creek is also the trailhead for the Mesa Creek Trail, a fairly to moderately strenuous 1.5 mile round trip that crosses the reservoir on a footbridge and travels west along the north shore. Though Mesa Creek is a day-use facility, developed campsites are available at nearby Cimarron. Crystal Creek Trailhead is located on Colorado Highway 92, 24 miles west of Blue Mesa Dam and offers access to the 5-mile (round trip) Crystal Creek Trail. Moderately strenuous, Crystal Creek trail does reach the water but ends at an overlook 1800 ft. above the reservoir.

External links

NPS: Curecanti National Recreation AreaBureau of Reclamation: Crystal Dam

References

{{authority control Reservoirs in Colorado Gunnison River Colorado River Storage Project Curecanti National Recreation Area Lakes of Gunnison County, Colorado Protected areas of Gunnison County, Colorado 1976 establishments in Colorado

Background

Recreation

See also

External links

References