Flaming Gorge Reservoir
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Flaming Gorge Reservoir | |
|---|---|
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| Location | northeastern Utah and Southern Wyoming |
| Coordinates | |
| Lake type | Hydroelectric reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Green River |
| Primary outflows | Green River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 42,020 acres (170 km²) |
| Water volume | 3,788,900 acre feet (4.67 km³) |
| Surface elevation | 6,040 ft (1841 m) |
Flaming Gorge Reservoir is a reservoir in Wyoming and Utah, on the Green River, created by the Flaming Gorge Dam. The nearest towns are Manila, Dutch John and Vernal Utah, and Rock Springs and Green River, Wyoming.
Construction on the Flaming Gorge Dam began in 1958 and was completed in 1964. The Reservoir stores 3,788,900 acre feet (4.67 km³) of water when measured at an elevation of 6,040 feet (1,840 m) above sea-level (maximum).
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[edit] Location
The Reservoir is mainly in southwest Wyoming, and partially in northeastern Utah. The northern tip of the reservoir is just 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Green River, Wyoming, 14 mi (23 km) southwest of Rock Springs, Wyoming, and 43 miles (69 km) north of Vernal, Utah. The lake straddles the Utah-Wyoming border. The nearby town of Dutch John, Utah, was built to serve as a base camp during construction of the dam, and as an administrative site afterwords.
[edit] Geology
Foundation: Steep-sided narrow canyon composed of siliceous sandstone and hard quartzites inter-bedded with softer shales, siltstones, and argillates. About 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of the dam, a road cut has revealed a fault scarp on the southbound side with about 9 feet (3 m) of slippage.
| Dam dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Crest Elevation | 6047 ft (1843 m) |
| Structural height | 502 ft (153 m) |
| Hydraulic height | 448 ft (137 m) |
| Crest length | 1,180 ft (360 m) |
| Crest width | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Base width | 131 ft (40 m) |
| Volume of concrete | 986,600 yd³ (754,000 m³) |
[edit] Recreation
Visitors enjoy hiking, boating, fishing, waterbiking, windsurfing, camping, backpacking, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling within Flaming Gorge National Recreational Area run by the U.S. Forest Service Ashley National Forest Service. Camp sites can be found close to the dam and along Highway 191 for a fee, as well as free throughout the area. Campgrounds operated by the U.S. Forest Service close in the winter months, with the exception of Dripping Springs near Dutch John. The many available fish species in the reservoir and surrounding lakes are Colorado River Cutthroat trout, Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Lake trout, Kokanee salmon, and Smallmouth bass. The Green River is a popular spot for fishing, namely below the dam. The river's ice cold water and beautiful structure make it a world class, world renowned fly fishing stream.
[edit] Access
From Rock Springs, Wyoming, take I-80 west to U.S. Highway 191 south, (63 miles (101 km) to the dam). From Vernal, Utah, take U.S. Highway 191 north for 43 miles (69 km). From Evanston, Wyoming take I-80 east to Wyoming Highway 414. Follow Wyoming Highway 414 south and east to the Utah State line, where it becomes Utah Highway 43 for 7 miles (11 km). Then take Utah Highway 44 for 29 miles (47 km) miles to U.S. Highway 191, then 5 miles (8 km) east to the dam. One half mile (0.6 km) from the dam is the beautiful Cart Creek Bridge. Flaming Gorge can be reached year-round.
[edit] External links
- utah.com
- Flaming Gorge Reservoir from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
- Report on Flaming Gorge ReservoirPDF (108 KiB) from the Utah Division of Water Quality
- Flaming Gorge Reservoir from UtahDiving.com
