Blue Mesa Reservoir
| Blue Mesa Reservoir | |||||||||
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| Coordinates | 38 ° 27 ′ 0 ″ N , 107 ° 20 ′ 0 ″ W | ||||||||
| Data on the structure | |||||||||
| Construction time: | 1962 to 1966 | ||||||||
| Height of the barrier structure : | 119 m | ||||||||
| Building volume: | 2.35 million m³ | ||||||||
| Crown length: | 240 m | ||||||||
| Power plant output: | 86 MW | ||||||||
| Data on the reservoir | |||||||||
| Altitude (at congestion destination ) | 2295 m | ||||||||
| Water surface | 37 km² | ||||||||
| Reservoir length | 32 km | ||||||||
| Storage space | 0.923 km³ | ||||||||
| Total storage space : | 1.16 km³ | ||||||||
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The Blue Mesa Reservoir is the largest reservoir in the US state of Colorado . It is located in southwest Colorado between the West Elk Mountains and the San Juan Mountains in Gunnison County . The reservoir is part of the Curecanti National Recreation Area .
dam
The lake is dammed up by the Blue Mesa dam and floods most of the former 80 km long Gunnison Gorge, the remaining part of which in the west ( Black Canyon ) was placed under the protection of a national park in 1999.
Reservoir
The reservoir is 32 kilometers long, the maximum storage capacity is 1.16 billion m³ (1.16 km³) at a maximum depth of 113 m.
Like many other reservoirs, it is used for energy generation , flood protection , irrigation and as a recreational area . The lake is part of the Curecanti Recreation Area , which is under the administration of the National Park Service . The Blue Mesa Reservoir is a popular fishing and water sports center for the local population .