Granby Dam

Granby Dam
Location of Granby Dam
Location	Grand County, near Granby, Colorado, USA
Coordinates
Construction began	1941
Opening date	1950
Operator(s)	U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Earthfill
Impounds	Colorado River
Height	298 ft (91 m)
Length	Dam 861 ft (262 m), dikes 12,722 ft (3,878 m)
Dam volume	Dam 2,974,000 cu yd (2,274,000 m3), dikes 1,739,000 cu yd (1,330,000 m3)
Spillway capacity	11,500 cu ft/s (330 m3/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Lake Granby
Total capacity	539,800 acre feet (0.6658 km3)
Catchment area	311 sq mi (810 km2)
Power station
Hydraulic head	223 ft (68 m)

Granby Dam (National ID # CO01656) is an earthfill dam that dams the Colorado River 5.5 miles (8.9 km) northeast of Granby, Colorado in Grand County, Colorado. This 298-foot (91 m)-tall dam was constructed between 1941 and 1950 and has a drainage area of 311 square miles (810 km²). The Granby Dam's reservoir is known as Lake Granby, the largest reservoir component of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, which diverts water from the west slope of Colorado to populated areas, including Denver, on the east slope. In addition to the waters of the Colorado, water from Willow Creek just below the dam is pumped up 175 feet (53 m) to Lake Granby. Water from Lake Granby is pumped 125 feet (38 m) higher by the Granby Pumping Plant to the Granby Pump Canal, which extents 1.8 miles (2.9 km) to Shadow Mountain Lake, from which water is diverted through the Alva B. Adams Tunnel to the East Slope.^[1]

This damsite does not generate any power directly; power is generated at other locations in the Colorado-Big Thompson Project.

References

External links

• USBR Granby Dam Website

Colorado River system Jurisdictions United States Arizona California Colorado Nevada New Mexico Utah Wyoming Mexico Baja California Sonora Canyons Byers Canyon Gore Canyon Red Gorge Glenwood Canyon De Beque Canyon Horsethief Canyon Ruby Canyon Westwater Canyon Cataract Canyon Narrow Canyon Glen Canyon Grand Canyon Marble Canyon Granite Gorge Middle Granite Gorge Lower Granite Gorge Grand Wash Canyon Iceberg Canyon Virgin Canyon Boulder Canyon Black Canyon Pyramid Canyon Mohave Canyon Natural features River course Rocky Mountains Colorado River Basin Colorado Plateau Grand Lake Horseshoe Bend Sonoran Desert Mojave Desert Mohave Valley Parker Valley Palo Verde Valley Colorado Desert Salton Sea Imperial Valley New River Delta Montague Island Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez Tributaries Blue River Dirty Devil River Dolores River Escalante River Eagle River Fraser River Gila River Green River Gunnison River Kanab Creek Little Colorado River Paria River Roaring Fork River San Juan River Virgin River Williams Fork Engineering Mainstem dams Shadow Mountain Granby Windy Gap Grand Valley Price-Stubb Glen Canyon Hoover Davis Parker Headgate Rock Palo Verde Imperial Laguna Morelos Major reservoirs Fontenelle Reservoir Flaming Gorge Reservoir Blue Mesa Reservoir Navajo Lake Lake Powell Lake Mead Lake Mohave Lake Havasu Imperial Reservoir Theodore Roosevelt Lake San Carlos Lake Aqueducts and canals Grand Ditch Colorado River Aqueduct San Diego Aqueduct Central Arizona Project All-American Canal Coachella Canal Water projects Boulder Canyon Project Colorado-Big Thompson Project Colorado River Storage Project Grand Valley AVA Yuma Project Designated areas Arches National Park Canyonlands National Park Colorado National Monument Dead Horse Point State Park Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Grand Canyon National Park Lake Mead National Recreation Area Rocky Mountain National Park Related topics Arizona v. California Colorado River Board of California Colorado River Compact Floyd Dominy Lee's Ferry International Boundary and Water Commission Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Rapids and features U.S. Bureau of Reclamation William Mulholland