Blue Mesa Reservoir

Blue Mesa Reservoir
Location	Gunnison County, Colorado
Coordinates	38°28′13″N 107°13′13″W / 38.4703°N 107.2204°W / 38.4703; -107.2204Coordinates: 38°28′13″N 107°13′13″W / 38.4703°N 107.2204°W / 38.4703; -107.2204
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Gunnison River
Primary outflows	Gunnison River
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	20 mi (32 km)
Surface area	9180 acres (3715 ha)
Water volume	940,800 acre feet (1.1605×109 m3)
Shore length1	96 mi (154 km)
Surface elevation	7,519 ft (2,292 m)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Blue Mesa Reservoir (elevation 7,519 feet (2,292 m)) is the largest body of water entirely in Colorado. Created by Blue Mesa Dam, Blue Mesa Reservoir is 20 miles (32 km) long, has 96 miles (154 km) of shoreline, and is the largest lake trout and Kokanee salmon fishery in Colorado. Blue Mesa Dam was completed in 1965 and was the first large dam built along the Gunnison River.

U.S. 50 travels along the banks of the lake, and crosses it on the Lake Fork Arm and at Middle Bridge.

The reservoir is located in the Curecanti National Recreation Area, in Western Colorado, between Montrose and Gunnison. It is one of the three reservoirs formed from the Gunnison River. The other two reservoirs, also located in Curecanti National Recreation Area, are Crystal Reservoir and Morrow Point Reservoir. The area is filled with beautiful mesas, deep narrow canyons, and fjord-like lakes. Covering 41,972 acres (169.85 km²), the park brings over 960,000 visitors each year. There is no entrance fee.

Recreation activities

Popular recreation activities include boating, fishing, wind surfing, waterskiing and ice fishing in the winter. Other activities that are not water-based are hunting, ATV-riding, hiking, horseback riding, visiting the 5,000-acre (20 km²) archeological district and exploring the old narrow-gauge mining railroad of Gunnison. In the area, there are trails ranging from easy to very strenuous. Close to the park, attractions include the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area. Visitor centers are located at Blue Mesa Point, which overlooks where the lake and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison meet, Elk Creek Marina and Cimarron. There are also overlooks at Dillon Pinnacles trail and Hermit's Rest trail.

Climate

The Blue Mesa Reservoir sits on an area of "high desert" land in Western Colorado, just west of Gunnison. Although not quite as hot as other towns west on these desert lands, it can be very comfortable and warm in the summer months. However, winter months can have exceedingly cold temperatures, with the average January low temperatures just under 0 °F (−18 °C). Rainfall is scarce, averaging only 9 inches (230 mm). It does snow on these desert lands, but the snowfall usually melts quickly due to the high altitude, dry climate, and abundant sunshine, even in the winter months.

See also

• List of largest reservoirs of Colorado

References

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 Lower Colorado River Valley Mohave Valley Parker Valley Palo Verde Valley Colorado Desert Alamo River New River Salton Sea Imperial Valley 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 Las Vegas Wash Williams Fork Río Hardy
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