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Platoro Dam (National ID # CO82911) is a dam in
Platoro Dam (National ID # CO82911) is a dam in Conejos County, Colorado
Conejos County (Spanish language, Spanish for "rabbits") is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,461. The county seat is the Unincorporated area, unincorporated c ...
.
The earthen dam was constructed between 1949 and 1951 by the United States Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and operatio ...
with a height of , and long at its crest. It impounds the Conejos River
The Conejos River is a tributary of the Rio Grande, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 31, 2011 in south-central Colorado in the United States. It d ...
, a tributary of the Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
, for irrigation water storage as part of the larger San Luis Valley Project. The dam is owned by the Bureau and operated by the local Conejos Water Conservancy.
The reservoir it creates, Platoro Reservoir, has a normal water surface of , and a maximum capacity of . Recreation includes fishing, camping, boating and hunting, although use is light because of the remote, high mountain valley location and the short season.
See also
* List of Rio Grande dams and diversions *List of largest reservoirs of Colorado
This is a list of the largest reservoirs in the state of Colorado. All thirty-nine reservoirs that contain greater than are included in the list. Most of the larger reservoirs in the state are owned by the United States Bureau of Reclamation and, ...
References
{{authority control Dams in Colorado Reservoirs in Colorado United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Dams completed in 1951 Buildings and structures in Conejos County, Colorado Dams in the Rio Grande basin Bodies of water of Conejos County, Colorado 1951 establishments in Colorado