Ute Dam facts for kids
Ute Dam is a large dam located near Logan, New Mexico in Quay County. It's about 20 miles west of the Texas border. This important dam helps store water from the Canadian River for towns and cities to use.
Contents
Ute Dam: A Big Helper for New Mexico
What is Ute Dam?
Ute Dam is a special kind of dam called an "earthen dam." This means it's built mostly from earth, like soil and rock. It was finished in 1963 by the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission. This group manages water for the state. Ute Dam is unique because it was built without money from the national (federal) government. It's also the only big reservoir in New Mexico owned and run by the state itself.
How Was Ute Dam Built?
The dam is very tall, standing 132 feet high. It's also very long, stretching 6,530 feet across the land. In 1984, a special part was added to the dam called a "labyrinth weir spillway." This spillway helps control the water level in the lake. It's the biggest one of its kind in the United States! This addition, designed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, made the lake 27 feet deeper.
Ute Reservoir: A Fun Place to Visit!
The dam creates a large lake called Ute Reservoir. The surface of the water covers about 8,200 acres. This lake can hold a lot of water, up to 403,000 acre-feet. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land with water one foot deep.
Ute Reservoir is also a great place for fun activities! People love to go fishing here. You can catch different kinds of fish like largemouth bass, catfish, crappie, and walleye. There are also facilities at the nearby Ute Lake State Park where visitors can enjoy the outdoors.
