| 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)[1] |
| Length | 3,648 ft (1,112 m)[1] |
| Dam volume | 26,840,863 cu yd (20,521,312 m3)[1] |
| Spillway type | Concrete ungated chute |
| Spillway capacity | 34,000 cu ft/s (960 m3/s)[1] |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Navajo Lake |
| Total capacity | 1,708,600 acre⋅ft (2.1075 km3)[1] |
| Catchment area | 3,190 sq mi (8,300 km2)[1] |
| Surface area | 15,610 acres (6,320 ha)[1] |
| Power Station | |
| Operator(s) | City of Farmington |
| Commission date | 1986 |
| Installed capacity | 32 MW |
| Annual generation | 135,226,000 KWh[2] |
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.[3] 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.