Navajo Dam
| Navajo Dam Daʼdeestłʼin (in Navajo) | |
|---|---|
View of Navajo Dam from the air | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties, New Mexico |
| Coordinates | 36°48′01″N 107°36′45″W / 36.80028°N 107.61250°W |
| Construction began | July 30, 1958 |
| Opening date | April 20, 1963 |
| Owner(s) | U.S. Bureau of Reclamation |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Zoned earthfill embankment |
| Impounds | San Juan River |
| Height | 402 ft (123 m) |
| Length | 3,648 ft (1,112 m) |
| Dam volume | 26,840,863 cu yd (20,521,312 m3) |
| Spillway type | Concrete ungated chute |
| Spillway capacity | 34,000 cu ft/s (960 m3/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Navajo Lake |
| Total capacity | 1,708,600 acre⋅ft (2.1075 km3) |
| Catchment area | 3,190 sq mi (8,300 km2) |
| Surface area | 15,610 acres (6,320 ha) |
| Power Station | |
| Operator(s) | City of Farmington |
| Commission date | 1986 |
| Installed capacity | 32 MW |
| Annual generation | 135,226,000 KWh |
Navajo Dam is a dam on the San Juan River, a tributary of the Colorado River, in northwestern New Mexico in the United States. The 402-foot (123 m) high earthen dam is situated in the foothills of the San Juan Mountains about 44 miles (71 km) upstream and east of Farmington, New Mexico. It was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) in the 1960s to provide flood control, irrigation, domestic and industrial water supply, and storage for droughts. A small hydroelectric power plant was added in the 1980s.
The dam is a major feature of the Colorado River Storage Project, which is designed to regulate water resources across the entire Upper Colorado River Basin. The reservoir, Navajo Lake, is a popular recreation area and one of the largest bodies of water in New Mexico, with its upper portion extending into Colorado.