La Boquilla Dam
| La Boquilla Dam | |
|---|---|
  Location of La Boquilla Dam in Mexico | |
| Location | San Francisco de Conchos Municipality, Chihuahua |
| Coordinates | 27°32′41″N 105°24′51″W / 27.54472°N 105.41417°WCoordinates: 27°32′41″N 105°24′51″W / 27.54472°N 105.41417°W |
| Construction began | 1910 |
| Opening date | 1915 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Gravity |
| Impounds | Rio Conchos |
| Height (foundation) | 80 m (260 ft) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Toronto Lake |
| Total capacity | 2.903 km3 (2,354,000 acre·ft) |
| Power station | |
| Installed capacity | 25 MW |
| Annual generation | 164.6 GWh |
La Boquilla Dam (Spanish: Presa de la Boquilla) is a masonry arch-gravity dam on the Rio Conchos in Chihuahua, Mexico. The dam was built in 1910 to provide hydroelectricity, irrigation and flood control, and forms Toronto Lake with a capacity of 2.903 cubic kilometres (2,354,000 acre·ft). The dam, and the nearby town of Boquilla de Conchos are named for the abrupt narrowing of the Conchos valley where the dam was built, boquilla meaning "nozzle" or "mouth".
Construction of the dam began in 1910 and was completed in 1915. The dam has overflowed several times throughout its history, most notably in 1917 and 2008, causing severe flooding downstream.[1]
The power plant at the dam has a generating capacity of 25 megawatts. In 2004 it produced 164,660,000 kilowatt hours of energy.[2]