Platoro Dam

Platoro Dam
Location of Platoro Dam in Colorado
Country United States
Location Conejos County, Colorado
Coordinates 37°21′04″N 106°32′50″W / 37.35114°N 106.5473°W / 37.35114; -106.5473Coordinates: 37°21′04″N 106°32′50″W / 37.35114°N 106.5473°W / 37.35114; -106.5473
Purpose Irrigation water storage
Opening date 1951
Owner(s) United States Bureau of Reclamation
Dam and spillways
Height 165 feet (50 m)
Width (crest) 1,475 feet (450 m)
Reservoir
Total capacity 53,506 acre feet (65,999,000 m3)
Surface area 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2)

Platoro Dam (National ID # CO82911) is a dam in Conejos County, Colorado.

The earthen dam was constructed between 1949 and 1951 by the United States Bureau of Reclamation with a height of 165 feet (50 m), and 1,475 feet (450 m) long at its crest.[1] It impounds the Conejos River, a tributary of the Rio Grande, 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 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2), and a maximum capacity of 53,506 acre feet (65,999,000 m3).[2] Recreation includes fishing, camping, boating and hunting, although use is light because of the remote, high mountain valley location and the short season.[3]

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