Elephant Butte Dam, Historic dam in Sierra County, United States.
Elephant Butte Dam is a concrete structure spanning the Rio Grande that creates New Mexico's largest reservoir for irrigation and flood control purposes. The facility includes hydroelectric generation capabilities and recreational areas along the water's edge.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation built this concrete structure between 1911 and 1916 as a major advancement in regional water management. A hydroelectric facility was added later, expanding the structure's role in regional development.
The dam transformed how people lived and farmed across the region by providing reliable water supplies to agricultural areas. Today, visitors see how this infrastructure shaped community development and settlement patterns in southern New Mexico.
The site is easily accessible from Highway 51 and offers walking paths and observation areas around the reservoir. Plan for outdoor exploration in the desert environment where sun and heat are strong during most of the year.
The power plant was added in 1940, yet the spillway operated fully only three times across more than 80 years of operation. This rarity shows how dry the region typically is and how carefully water must be managed.
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