Elephant Butte Dam
Encyclopedia
Elephant Butte Dam or Elephant Butte Dike is a concrete gravity dam on the Rio Grande
near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
. The river was dammed here, impounding the Elephant Butte Reservoir
for recreation and agriculture, lessening the downstream flow from a Rio Bravo to a stream a foot deep.
The dam is part of the Rio Grande Project
, a project to provide power and irrigation to south-central New Mexico and west Texas
. The United States Congress authorized construction of the dam on February 25, 1905 and it began in 1911. It was completed in 1916 but allowed to begin filling in 1915.
Elephant Butte Dam is 301 feet (91.7 m) high, 1,674 feet (510.2 m) long including the spillway and is made from 618,785 cubic yards (473,095 m³) of concrete. The width at the top of the dam is 18 feet (5.5 m) and 228 feet (69.5 m) at the base.
The dam can hold 2065010 acre.ft of water from a drainage of 28,900 square miles (74,850 km²). It provides irrigation to 178,000 acres (720 km²) of land. The dam also contains a 27,945-kilowatt hydroelectric
powerplant. The current turbine was installed in 1940 and generates 38,449,061 kWh per year (as of 2005). It is at an elevation of 4390 ft (1338 m).
At the time of its construction, the dam was the largest irrigation dam ever built with the exception of the Aswan Dam
in Egypt. It was expected that the dam would become the property of the local settlers once a water tax had reimbursed the government for the cost of construction. During construction the government used a system of 3 cables, each having a capacity of 15 tons and a span of 1400 feet (426.7 m).
The name "Elephant Butte" refers to a volcanic core similar to Devils Tower
in Wyoming
. It is now an island in the lake. The butte was said to have the shape of an elephant
.
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
Truth or Consequences is a spa city and the county seat of Sierra County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 7,289. It is commonly known within New Mexico as T or C....
. The river was dammed here, impounding the Elephant Butte Reservoir
Elephant Butte Reservoir
Elephant Butte Reservoir is a reservoir on the Rio Grande in the U.S. state of New Mexico, north of Truth or Consequences. It is impounded by Elephant Butte Dam and is the largest reservoir in New Mexico...
for recreation and agriculture, lessening the downstream flow from a Rio Bravo to a stream a foot deep.
The dam is part of the Rio Grande Project
Rio Grande Project
The Rio Grande Project is a United States Bureau of Reclamation irrigation, hydroelectricity, flood control, and water diversion project, begun in 1905, that taps the Rio Grande in the states of New Mexico and Texas, in the United States. of irrigated land, in a strip of land along the river no...
, a project to provide power and irrigation to south-central New Mexico and west Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The United States Congress authorized construction of the dam on February 25, 1905 and it began in 1911. It was completed in 1916 but allowed to begin filling in 1915.
Elephant Butte Dam is 301 feet (91.7 m) high, 1,674 feet (510.2 m) long including the spillway and is made from 618,785 cubic yards (473,095 m³) of concrete. The width at the top of the dam is 18 feet (5.5 m) and 228 feet (69.5 m) at the base.
The dam can hold 2065010 acre.ft of water from a drainage of 28,900 square miles (74,850 km²). It provides irrigation to 178,000 acres (720 km²) of land. The dam also contains a 27,945-kilowatt hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
powerplant. The current turbine was installed in 1940 and generates 38,449,061 kWh per year (as of 2005). It is at an elevation of 4390 ft (1338 m).
At the time of its construction, the dam was the largest irrigation dam ever built with the exception of the Aswan Dam
Aswan Dam
The Aswan Dam is an embankment dam situated across the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt. Since the 1950s, the name commonly refers to the High Dam, which is larger and newer than the Aswan Low Dam, which was first completed in 1902...
in Egypt. It was expected that the dam would become the property of the local settlers once a water tax had reimbursed the government for the cost of construction. During construction the government used a system of 3 cables, each having a capacity of 15 tons and a span of 1400 feet (426.7 m).
The name "Elephant Butte" refers to a volcanic core similar to Devils Tower
Devils Tower National Monument
Devils Tower is an igneous intrusion or laccolith located in the Black Hills near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River...
in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. It is now an island in the lake. The butte was said to have the shape of an elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
.