La Boquilla Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids La Boquilla Dam |
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 Location of La Boquilla Dam in Mexico
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| Official name | Presa de la Boquilla |
| Location | San Francisco de Conchos Municipality, Chihuahua |
| Coordinates | 27°32′41″N 105°24′51″W / 27.54472°N 105.41417°W |
| Construction began | 1910 |
| Opening date | 1915 |
| Owner(s) | Comisión Federal de Electricidad |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Gravity |
| Impounds | Rio Conchos |
| Height (foundation) | 80 m (260 ft) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Toronto Lake |
| Total capacity | 2.903 km3 (2,354,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Power station | |
| Installed capacity | 25 MW |
| Annual generation | 164.6 GWh |
The La Boquilla Dam (which means Presa de la Boquilla in Spanish) is a large dam in Chihuahua, Mexico. It is built on the Rio Conchos. This dam is special because it is a masonry arch-gravity dam. This means it uses both its curved shape (arch) and its heavy weight (gravity) to hold back the water.
The dam was built to help with three main things:
- Making hydroelectricity (power from water).
- Providing water for irrigation (watering farms).
- Controlling floods.
It creates a big lake called Toronto Lake. This lake can hold a lot of water, about 2.9 cubic kilometers! The dam and a nearby town are named "Boquilla" because the river valley gets very narrow there. "Boquilla" means "nozzle" or "mouth" in Spanish.
Building the Dam
Building the La Boquilla Dam started in 1910. It took five years to finish, opening in 1915.
Throughout its history, the dam has sometimes had too much water. This caused it to overflow. Big overflows happened in 1917 and again in 2008. These events led to serious flooding in areas downstream from the dam.
Making Electricity
The dam has a special power plant. This plant can make 25 megawatts of electricity. To give you an idea, in 2004, it produced 164,660,000 kilowatt hours of energy. This is enough electricity to power many homes and businesses.
Water Sharing and Protests
In September 2020, there were protests at the dam. Farmers were concerned about water being sent from La Boquilla Dam to the United States. This water transfer is part of a treaty signed in 1944. This treaty explains how Mexico and the U.S. share water from rivers like the Colorado, Tijuana, and Rio Grande.
Local people were worried about how sending water away would affect their farms. The protests led to some difficult situations. The Mexican National Guard was at the site, and they later left the area.
See also
In Spanish: Presa de la Boquilla para niños
- Lago Colina Dam
- List of dams and reservoirs#Mexico
- List of lakes in Mexico
