Rifle Gap Dam (National ID # CO01692) is a dam in

Garfield County, Colorado Garfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,685. The county seat is Glenwood Springs. The county is named in honor of United States President James A. Garfield. Garfield Count ...

, about five and a half miles north of

Rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

. The earthen dam was constructed between 1964 and 1967 by the

United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

, with a height of and a length of feet at its crest. It impounds East Rifle Creek and West Rifle Creek about feet upstream from their previous point of confluence. The dam was built for irrigation water storage, is owned by the Bureau, and is operated by the local Silt Water Conservancy District. The reservoir it creates, Rifle Gap Reservoir, has a water surface of and a maximum capacity of . Recreation includes scuba diving in its clear water, fishing (for rainbow and German brown trout, walleye, perch, and smallmouth and largemouth bass, etc.), wildlife watching, boating, year-round camping, and hiking.

References

{{authority control Dams in Colorado Reservoirs in Colorado United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Buildings and structures in Garfield County, Colorado Earth-filled dams Dams completed in 1967 Dams in the Colorado River basin Bodies of water of Garfield County, Colorado

See also

References