Chatfield Reservoir
Encyclopedia
Chatfield Reservoir and dam on the South Platte River
south of Littleton
, Colorado
were built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
as a response to the disastrous flood of 1965. In addition to its primary purpose of flood control, it serves as one of many water supply reservoirs for the city of Denver, Colorado
. Construction of the project was begun in 1967 and the dam was completed in 1975.
The massive breastworks of the dam measure approximately 13136 feet (4,003.9 m) in length with a maximum height of the dam of 147 feet (44.8 m) above the streambed. The normal depth of the lake is 47 feet (14.3 m) at its deepest point. This means the dam towers 100 feet (30.5 m) above the mean surface of the reservoir.
The lake drains an area of more than 3,000 square miles (8,000 km²). The 1,500 acre (6 km²) lake has a conservation storage capacity of 27000 acre.ft with a flood-control pool of over 350000 acre feet
The reservoir is surrounded by Chatfield State Park
, a recreation area with boating, horseback riding and camping. A secondary inflow from the south is Plum Creek.
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...
south of Littleton
Littleton, Colorado
Littleton is a Home Rule Municipality contained in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. Littleton is a suburb of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and the 20th most populous city in the state of...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
were built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
as a response to the disastrous flood of 1965. In addition to its primary purpose of flood control, it serves as one of many water supply reservoirs for the city of Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. Construction of the project was begun in 1967 and the dam was completed in 1975.
The massive breastworks of the dam measure approximately 13136 feet (4,003.9 m) in length with a maximum height of the dam of 147 feet (44.8 m) above the streambed. The normal depth of the lake is 47 feet (14.3 m) at its deepest point. This means the dam towers 100 feet (30.5 m) above the mean surface of the reservoir.
The lake drains an area of more than 3,000 square miles (8,000 km²). The 1,500 acre (6 km²) lake has a conservation storage capacity of 27000 acre.ft with a flood-control pool of over 350000 acre feet
The reservoir is surrounded by Chatfield State Park
Chatfield State Park
Chatfield State Park is a state park located in Douglas and Jefferson counties of Colorado, United States.-Wildlife:Over three hundred bird species both migrant and resident frequent Chatfield...
, a recreation area with boating, horseback riding and camping. A secondary inflow from the south is Plum Creek.