Chambers Lake (Colorado)

Last updated
Chambers Lake
Chambers Lake ( Colorado).JPG
The lake in summer
USA Colorado location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Chambers Lake
Location in Colorado
Location Larimer County, Colorado
Coordinates 40°36′16″N105°51′12″W / 40.6045224°N 105.8533750°W / 40.6045224; -105.8533750 Coordinates: 40°36′16″N105°51′12″W / 40.6045224°N 105.8533750°W / 40.6045224; -105.8533750 [1]
Type Reservoir
EtymologyNamed for Robert Chambers, a trapper who camped at the site in 1858 [2]
Primary inflows Fall Creek, Skyline Ditch, Joe Wright Creek
Primary outflows Joe Wright Creek
Managing agencyThe Water Supply and Storage Company
Surface area255 acres (103 ha) [3]
Water volume11,350 acre⋅ft (14,000,000 m3) [4]
Surface elevation2,791 m (9,157 ft) [1]

Chambers Lake is a reservoir in Larimer County, Colorado. Located within the Roosevelt National Forest, the reservoir supplies water for irrigation and municipal water supply.

Contents

The reservoir is owned by the Water Supply and Storage Company, based in Fort Collins. The city of Thornton owns a large proportion of the company's stock. [5] Water from the reservoir makes its way to the Cache la Poudre River. It then flows down through Poudre Canyon to Colorado's Eastern Plains, where it is distributed.

History

The current dam is the third one to exist at the reservoir. Earlier dams burst in 1891 and 1904, causing much flooding and damage downstream. The present dam was built in 1910 and later renovated to increase its height to 58 feet. The renovations were completed in 1928. [2]

Chambers Lake receives water from Skyline Ditch, completed in 1894, and several creeks. The ditch carries water from the Laramie River, which is part of the North Platte River watershed. The lake itself and its drainage are part of the South Platte River watershed, so the ditch is an early example of an interbasin transfer in Colorado. [6]

Recreation

The Forest Service operates the Chambers Lake Campground, near the lake. Given the area's high altitude, the campground has a short season and is only open from about the end of June to the end of September. [7]

The lake also offers fishing.

Related Research Articles

South Platte River

The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West. Its drainage basin includes much of the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, much of the populated region known as the Colorado Front Range and Eastern Plains, and a portion of southeastern Wyoming in the vicinity of the city of Cheyenne. It joins the North Platte River in western Nebraska to form the Platte, which then flows across Nebraska to the Missouri. The river serves as the principal source of water for eastern Colorado. In its valley along the foothills in Colorado, it has permitted agriculture in an area of the Colorado Piedmont and Great Plains that is otherwise arid.

Cache la Poudre River

The Cache la Poudre River, also known as the Poudre River, is a river in the state of Colorado in the United States.

Big Thompson River

The Big Thompson River is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately 78 miles (123 km) long, in the U.S. state of Colorado. It originates in Forest Canyon into Lake Estes, in Estes Park, CO. It includes four crossings/bridges which are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

San Juan River (Colorado River tributary)

The San Juan River is a major tributary of the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States, providing the chief drainage for the Four Corners region of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. Originating as snowmelt in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, it flows 383 miles (616 km) through the deserts of northern New Mexico and southeastern Utah to join the Colorado River at Glen Canyon. The river drains a high, arid region of the Colorado Plateau and along its length it is often the only significant source of fresh water for many miles. The San Juan is also one of the muddiest rivers in North America, carrying an average of 25 million US tons of silt and sediment each year.

The Otselic River(aht-SEEL-ik), formerly known as Otselic Creek is a 55.4-mile-long (89.2 km) tributary of the Tioughnioga River in central New York in the United States. It drains a hilly area, mostly forested and agricultural, east of the Finger Lakes at the northern edge of the Susquehanna River watershed.

McCloud River

The McCloud River is a 77.1-mile (124.1 km) long river that flows east of and parallel to the upper Sacramento River, in Siskiyou County and Shasta County in northern California in the United States. Protected under California's Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1972), it drains a scenic mountainous area of the Cascade Range, including part of Mount Shasta. It is a tributary of the Pit River, which in turn flows into the Sacramento River. The three rivers join in Shasta Lake, formed by Shasta Dam north of Redding.

Curecanti National Recreation Area

Curecanti National Recreation Area is a National Park Service unit located on the Gunnison River in western Colorado. Established in 1965, Curecanti is responsible for developing and managing recreational facilities on three reservoirs, Blue Mesa Reservoir, Morrow Point Reservoir and Crystal Reservoir, constructed on the upper Gunnison River in the 1960s by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to better utilize the vital waters of the Colorado River and its major tributaries. A popular destination for boating and fishing, Curecanti offers visitors two marinas, traditional and group campgrounds, hiking trails, boat launches, and boat-in campsites. The state's premiere lake trout and Kokanee salmon fisheries, Curecanti is a popular destination for boating and fishing, and is also a popular area for ice-fishing in the winter months.

Colorado-Big Thompson Project

The Colorado-Big Thompson Project is a federal water diversion project in Colorado designed to collect West Slope mountain water from the headwaters of the Colorado River and divert it to Colorado's Front Range and plains. In Colorado, approximately 80% of the state's precipitation falls on the West Slope, in the Rocky Mountains, while around 80% of the state's growing population lives along the East Slope, between the cities of Fort Collins and Pueblo.

Kinzua Dam Dam in Allegheny National Forest Glade Township / Mead Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States

The Kinzua Dam, on the Allegheny River in Warren County, Pennsylvania, is one of the largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi River. It is located within the Allegheny National Forest.

Blue Mesa Reservoir

Blue Mesa Reservoir is an artificial reservoir located on the upper reaches of the Gunnison River in Gunnison County, Colorado. The largest lake located entirely within the state, Blue Mesa Reservoir was created by the construction of Blue Mesa Dam, a 390-foot tall earthen fill dam constructed on the Gunnison by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1966 for the generation of hydroelectric power. Managed as part of the Curecanti National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service, Blue Mesa Reservoir is the largest lake trout and Kokanee salmon fishery in Colorado.

Loon Lake (California)

Loon Lake is a reservoir in the Eldorado National Forest of El Dorado County, California, United States. The 76,200 acre⋅ft (94,000,000 m3) lake is formed by Loon Lake Dam, completed in 1963 as part of the Upper American River Project by Sacramento Municipal Utility District to conserve spring snow melt runoff for use during the summer and autumn for hydroelectric power production. Loon Lake Dam impounds water at the headwaters of Gerle Creek which, prior to the dam, flowed intermittently through (natural) Loon and Pleasant Lakes. But most of the water now stored in Loon Lake arrives from Buck Island Reservoir in the adjacent Rubicon River watershed by way of the Buck-Loon Tunnel. Nearby is Loon Lake Chalet, a popular winter recreation destination. In summer, a boat ramp for water sports and camping are available, but the area is less popular than nearby Union Valley Reservoir and Rubicon Trail.

Chatfield Reservoir

Chatfield Dam and Reservoir is a dam and artificial lake located on the South Platte River, south of Littleton, Colorado. The dam and reservoir were built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a response to the disastrous flood of 1965. In addition to its primary purpose of flood control, it serves as one of many water supply reservoirs for the city of Denver, Colorado. In 1966, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission projected a total federal cost of $74 million. Construction of the project was begun in 1967 and the dam was completed in 1975.

Chatfield State Park

Chatfield State Park is a state park located in Douglas and Jefferson counties of Colorado, United States. The park centers on Chatfield Reservoir, a 1,423 acre surface area lake fed by the South Platte River and two other creeks, including Plum Creek.

Scofield Reservoir

Scofield Reservoir is a 2,815-acre (11.39 km2) reservoir impounded by Scofield Dam, in Carbon County, Utah. Located on the Price River, a tributary of the Green River, Scofield Reservoir is adjacent to northernmost boundary of the Manti–La Sal National Forest. The reservoir sits at an elevation of 7,618 feet (2,322 m), on the northern edge of the Wasatch Plateau. Utah State Route 96 runs along the western shoreline.

Grand Ditch United States historic place

The Grand Ditch, also known as the Grand River Ditch and originally known as the North Grand River Ditch, is a water diversion project in the Never Summer Mountains, in northern Colorado. It is 14.3 miles (23.0 km) long, 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, and 3 feet (0.91 m) deep on average. Streams and creeks that flow from the highest peaks of the Never Summer Mountains are diverted into the ditch, which flows over the Continental Divide at La Poudre Pass at 10,175 feet (3,101 m), delivering the water into Long Draw Reservoir and the Cache La Poudre River for eastern plains farmers. The water would otherwise have gone into the Colorado River that flows west towards the Pacific; instead, the Cache La Poudre River goes East and through the Mississippi River discharges into the Gulf of Mexico.

Standley Lake Lake in Westminster, Colorado

Standley Lake is a 1,200-acre (4.9 km2) reservoir located in Westminster, Colorado. While originally constructed to provide water for the agricultural irrigation of the surrounding region northwest of Denver, it now serves primarily as the municipal water supply for the cities of Westminster, Northglenn, and Thornton. The lake is also used for recreation, and is the prominent feature of the surrounding 3,000-acre (12 km2) Standley Lake Regional Park.

Rollins Dam Dam in Nevada County, California

Rollins Dam is a dam on the border of Nevada and Placer counties in northern California, in the United States.

Metro Vancouver watersheds

The Metro Vancouver watersheds, also known as the Greater Vancouver watersheds, supply potable water to approximately 2.4 million residents in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. They provide tap water to a land area covering more than 2,600 km², including cities such as Vancouver, Langley and Richmond. From west to east, the watersheds are the Capilano, the Seymour, and the Coquitlam. They are located in the North Shore Mountains and Coquitlam Mountain, respectively. Each watershed possesses a reservoir for water storage purposes, under the control of Metro Vancouver. The reservoirs are supplied by about 3.5 metres of rain and 4.5 metres of snowpack annually. Two additional off-catchment areas under control of Metro Vancouver contribute to the water supply. The watersheds have a long history of controversies surrounding logging, highway development, and salmon run conservation.

Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District — more commonly referred to as Northern Water — is a water utility for eight counties in northeastern Colorado. Northern Water works with the Colorado-Big Thompson Project to transfer water from the Colorado Western Slope over the Continental Divide for agricultural, industrial, and municipal water supply in northeastern Colorado. The District's offices are in Berthoud, Colorado.

References

  1. 1 2 "Chambers Lake". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved Jan 15, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Chambrers Lake". Colorado State University. Public Lands History Center. Colorado State University. Retrieved 2017-08-31. Chambers Lake, at 9,300 feet above sea level in the Medicine Bow Range, is named for trapper Robert Chambers, who camped there with his son in 1858.
  3. Davies, Kurt (2013). "Chambers Lake Fish Survey and Management Data" (PDF). Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  4. Lakepedia. Chambers Lake, Colorado. Viewed: 2017-08-31
  5. "Guide to the Water Supply and Storage Company Collection". Colorado State University Libraries. Retrieved 2017-08-31. In 1986, the city of Thornton purchased substantial stock in the company, which has subsequently provided water for both municipal and agricultural purpose
  6. "Skyline Ditch". Colorado State University. Public Lands History Center. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
  7. "Chambers Lake Campground". USDA Forest Service. Retrieved 2017-09-01.