- Navajo Dam
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Navajo Dam
Daʼdeestłʼin (Navajo)
View of Navajo Dam from the airCountry United States Location San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties, New Mexico Coordinates 36°48′01″N 107°36′45″W / 36.80028°N 107.6125°WCoordinates: 36°48′01″N 107°36′45″W / 36.80028°N 107.6125°W[1] Status In use Construction began 1957 Opening date 1962 Owner(s) U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Dam and spillways Type of dam Rolled earthfill embankment Height 402 ft (123 m) Length 3,648 ft (1,112 m) Volume 26,840,863 cu yd (20,521,312 m3) Impounds San Juan River Spillways 1 Type of spillway Service, concrete uncontrolled overflow Spillway capacity 34,000 cu ft/s (960 m3/s) Reservoir Creates Navajo Lake Capacity 1,708,600 acre·ft (2.1075 km3) Catchment area 3,190 sq mi (8,300 km2) Surface area 15,610 acres (6,320 ha) Power station Owner(s) City of Farmington Hydraulic head 381.6 ft (116.3 m) Turbines 1 Installed capacity 32 MW Maximum capacity Up to 500 MW potential Navajo Dam is an earthen dam on the San Juan River, a tributary of the Colorado River, in northwestern New Mexico in the United States. The dam and its reservoir, Navajo Lake, lie in the arid western foothills of the Rocky Mountains about 30 miles (48 km) east of Farmington.
Contents
History
This dam was built as part of the Colorado River Storage Project, a massive system of dams and reservoirs across the upper Colorado River Basin, by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Although the first studies for a dam on the San Juan were made as early as 1904, it was not considered seriously until the 1930s with the onset of heavy water use in the Colorado watershed. Construction started in 1957 and was completed on September 15, 1962. Today it is one of four major storage facilities for the project – Glen Canyon, Blue Mesa and Flaming Gorge are the three others.[2]
The construction of the dam and the resulting lake flooded and destroyed one of the Navajos' most sacred sites.[3]
Dimensions
The Navajo Dam is 402 feet (123 m) high and 3,648 feet (1,112 m) long. Its crest is at an elevation of 6,108 feet (1,862 m).[4] The reservoir formed behind the dam, Navajo Lake, is 35 miles (56 km) long and stores 1,708,600 acre feet (2.1075×109 m) of water. The dam has one spillway, an ungated concrete chute capable of discharging 34,000 cubic feet per second (960 m3/s).[5]
Power generation
Despite its location on a major river and its massive height, the dam was built solely for storage purposes and thus did not have a power plant when construction was completed in 1962. In 1983, the city of Farmington contracted with Reclamation to build a 32 MW hydroelectric plant at the base of the dam. However, it is obvious that the Navajo Dam has a far greater hydroelectric potential than that.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "Navajo Dam". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. 1980-11-13. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:938724. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- ^ "Navajo Dam". Colorado River Storage Project. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 2008-11-25. http://www.usbr.gov/uc/rm/crsp/navajo/index.html. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- ^ Linford, Laurance. Navajo Places. History, Legend, Landscape. University of Utah Press. Salt Lake City: 2000.
- ^ "Dimensions". Colorado River Storage Project. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 2010-04-13. http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Facility.jsp?fac_Name=Navajo+Dam&groupName=Dimensions. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- ^ "Hydraulics & Hydrology". Colorado River Storage Project. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 2010-04-13. http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Facility.jsp?fac_Name=Navajo+Dam&groupName=Hydraulics+%26+Hydrology. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- ^ "Electricity History of Farmington, New Mexico". City of Farmington. http://www.fmtn.org/pdf/electric_utility/history.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
Dams Glen Canyon Dam · Flaming Gorge Dam · Navajo Dam · Crystal Dam · Morrow Point Dam · Blue Mesa Dam
Reservoirs Water resources projects Bostwick Park Project · Central Utah Project · Dallas Creek Project · Dolores Project · Eden Project · Emery County Project · Florida Project · Hammond Project · Lyman Project · Navajo Indian Irrigation Project · Paonia Project · Pine River Project · San Juan-Chama Project · Seedskadee Project · Silt Project · Smith Fork Project
Rivers Colorado River · Green River · Gunnison River · San Juan River
Categories:- Buildings and structures completed in 1962
- Buildings and structures in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico
- Buildings and structures in San Juan County, New Mexico
- Dams in New Mexico
- Colorado River Storage Project
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