Navajo Lake is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

located in San Juan County and

Rio Arriba County Rio Arriba County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,246. Its county seat is Tierra Amarilla. Its northern border is the Colorado state line. Rio Arriba County comprises the Española, N ...

in northwestern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, in the southwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Portions of the reservoir extend into

Archuleta County Archuleta County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,359. The county seat and the only incorporated municipality in the county is Pagosa Springs. History Archuleta County was created ...

in southern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. The lake is part of the

Colorado River Storage Project The Colorado River Storage Project is a United States Bureau of Reclamation project designed to oversee the development of the upper Colorado River basin. The project provides hydroelectric power, flood control and water storage for participat ...

, which here manages the upper reaches of the San Juan River, storing and releasing water that is used locally for irrigation, or ultimately reaching the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. Water is impounded in Navajo Lake by the earth- and rock-filled

Navajo Dam Navajo Dam is a dam on the San Juan River (Colorado River), San Juan River, a tributary of the Colorado River, in northwestern New Mexico in the United States. The high earthen dam is situated in the foothills of the San Juan Mountains about ups ...

, long and high, completed in 1962. The lake is over long and lies at an elevation of up to . The construction of the dam and the resulting lake flooded and destroyed one of the Navajos' most sacred sites.Linford, Laurance. ''Navajo Places. History, Legend, Landscape.'' University of Utah Press. Salt Lake City: 2000. The Lake and associated shoreline areas near the dam in New Mexico and the river shorelines below the dam are part of New Mexico's

Navajo Lake State Park Navajo Lake is a reservoir located in San Juan County and Rio Arriba County in northwestern New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. Portions of the reservoir extend into Archuleta County in southern Colorado. The lake is part of the ...

, while the Portion of the shoreline and portion of the lake that is located in Colorado make up

Navajo State Park Navajo State Park is a state park of Colorado, USA, on the north shore of Navajo Lake. Touted as Colorado's answer to Lake Powell, this reservoir on the San Juan River begins in Colorado's San Juan Mountains and extends into New Mexico. Its a ...

which is managed as part of the Colorado State Parks system. The lake has smallmouth bass,

black crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black sp ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

, and

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

. The waters of Navajo Lake forced hundreds of families to leave their homes and communities. The four communities affected were Los Arboles, Los Pinos, Rose and Los Martinez. The 1.7 million acre-foot reservoir displaced an unknown amount of farms and ranches. It has been estimated that almost 200 mainly Hispanic families had to move. Some families had been here nearly 80–90 years.

References

External links

Navajo Lake State Park
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Archuleta County, Colorado Buildings and structures in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Buildings and structures in San Juan County, New Mexico Bodies of water of Archuleta County, Colorado Bodies of water of San Juan County, New Mexico Colorado River Storage Project Lakes of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Parks in Archuleta County, Colorado Parks in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Parks in San Juan County, New Mexico Reservoirs in Colorado Reservoirs in New Mexico State parks of New Mexico 1962 establishments in New Mexico

See also

References

External links