Sumner Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sumner Dam |
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 Location of Sumner Dam in New Mexico
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| Country | United States |
| Location | De Baca County, New Mexico |
| Coordinates | 34°36′29″N 104°23′11″W / 34.60817°N 104.38634°W |
| Purpose | Irrigation |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Height | 164 feet (50 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Total capacity | 43,800 acre-feet (54,000,000 m3) |
The Sumner Dam is a large structure built on the Pecos River. You can find it in De Baca County, which is in eastern New Mexico. Dams like this help control water and store it for different uses.
Building the Dam
The Sumner Dam was built a long time ago, between 1935 and 1939. The main group in charge was the United States Bureau of Reclamation. This government agency helps manage water resources. They worked with a local group called the Carlsbad Irrigation District.
Many people helped build the dam. Workers from two special programs, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), did much of the work. These programs helped people find jobs during a tough time in history. You can still see some of their artistic rockwork today. There are five rock bridges on the main road on the east side of the lake.
Lake Sumner and the Park
The Sumner Dam is 164 feet tall. It holds back the Pecos River, creating a large lake called Lake Sumner. This lake can hold about 43,800 acre-feet of water. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land with water one foot deep.
Near the lake, there is a small town also called Lake Sumner, New Mexico. The lake is also home to Sumner Lake State Park. This park was created in 1966. It was first called Alamogordo Lake State Park. The park lets people enjoy the lake and the nature around it.
In 2001, the lake was completely drained. This was done to provide water for farms that needed irrigation. Unfortunately, draining the lake meant that many fish died. But since then, people have started using the lake for fun activities again. The state park is special because it lets people visit the area right below the dam, near the river.
