Paonia Dam facts for kids

Paonia Dam is a large dam located in Gunnison County, Colorado. It was built to help store water for irrigation, which means providing water to farms and crops. The dam creates a beautiful lake called Paonia Reservoir, which is also a popular spot for outdoor activities.

Paonia Dam: Storing Water for Colorado

How Paonia Dam Was Built

The Paonia Dam is an earthen dam. This means it's made mostly from natural materials like soil, sand, clay, and rock. It was a big project by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, an agency that manages water resources.

Construction on the dam began in 1959 and finished in 1962. Its main purpose was to store water for irrigation, helping farmers in the area grow their crops. The dam stands about 199 feet (60 meters) tall and stretches 770 feet (235 meters) across its top.

Paonia Reservoir and State Park

The dam holds back water to form Paonia Reservoir. This lake covers an area of 334 acres, which is about 250 football fields! It can hold a lot of water, up to 20,950 acre-feet. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land with water one foot deep.

The reservoir is part of Paonia State Park, a great place for outdoor fun. You can find campsites if you want to stay overnight, picnic spots for a meal outdoors, and a boat ramp for launching boats onto the lake.

Nature and Wildlife at Paonia State Park

When you visit Paonia State Park, you can see amazing natural features. There are rock formations from ancient times, specifically the Cretaceous and Paleocene periods. These periods were millions of years ago, even before the dinosaurs disappeared! You might even spot fossilized palm fronds and leaf imprints in the rocks, showing what the area looked like long ago.

The park is also home to different types of plants and animals. You'll find areas with Gambel oak shrubs, along with forests of mixed conifer trees and aspen trees. Many animals live here too. You might see mule deer, elk, cottontail rabbits, and marmots roaming around.