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Heron Lake (New Mexico)
Encyclopedia
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
in Rio Arriba County
Rio Arriba County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*51.6% White*0.5% Black*16.0% Native American*0.4% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.3% Two or more races*28.2% Other races*71.3% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
, in northern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
in the southwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The lake is part of the San Juan-Chama Diversion Project, which transfers water from the upper reaches of the San Juan River through the 12.8 miles (20.6 km) Azotea Tunnel (and under the Continental Divide
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
), into Willow Creek and the Rio Chama (and ultimately into the Rio Grande
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...
). Water is impounded in Heron Lake by the 1250 feet (381 m) long, 263 feet (80.2 m) high Heron Dam, which was completed in 1971. The 5900 acres (24 km²) lake is approximately 4 miles (6 km) long and 3 miles (5 km) wide, and lies at an elevation of up to 7186 feet (2,190.3 m).
The southern shore is the location of Heron Lake State Park, featuring over 200 camping and picnic sites, and two improved boat ramps. The lake is a destination for salmon and trout fishing, as well as for small boat sailing. Boat speeds are restricted by a 'no-wake' policy. A 5.5 miles (8.9 km) hiking trail crosses the Rio Chama Gorge via a pedestrian suspension bridge, and then runs southwest through wooded terrain to the grounds of El Vado Lake
El Vado Lake
El Vado Lake is a reservoir located in Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Water is impounded by the earth-filled El Vado Dam, on the Rio Chama, long and high, completed in 1935...
State Park.
The lake, dam, and state park are named after Kenneth A. Heron, an engineer in the early 1900s who realized that water could be diverted from wetter areas to the north, to the benefit of more arid regions to the south.