Eagle Nest Dam
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Eagle Nest Dam
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_Picture_1987.jpg)
Eagle Nest Dam
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| Nearest city | Eagle Nest, New Mexico |
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| Coordinates | 36°31′54″N 105°13′44″W / 36.53167°N 105.22889°WCoordinates: 36°31′54″N 105°13′44″W / 36.53167°N 105.22889°W |
| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| Built | 1920 |
| Architect | Willis Ranney |
| NRHP Reference # | 79001537 |
| NMSRCP # | 549 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 18, 1979 |
| Designated NMSRCP | January 20, 1978 |
The Eagle Nest Dam is a dam just east of the town of Eagle Nest, New Mexico on U.S. Route 64. The dam, on private property, is on the Cimarron River, and is responsible for Eagle Nest Lake.
In 1907, two wealthy ranchers, Frank Springer and Charles Springer, and the Cimarron Valley Land Company were granted a water permit (New Mexico Permit #71) to impound the water of the Cimarron River for irrigation by building a dam. Construction of the dam began in 1916, and continued until 1918. The dam is 140 feet (43 m) high and has an arc length of 400 feet (120 m). At the top, the dam is 9.5 feet (2.9 m) wide, and it is 45.2 feet (13.8 m) wide at the base. It is considered the largest privately built dam in the United States. The resulting lake, known as Eagle Nest Lake has an area of 2,500 acres (10 km2; 3.9 sq mi) and measures 5 miles (8.0 km) long, and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide. The surface elevation of the water when the lake is at capacity is 8,190 feet (2,500 m) above sea level. The reservoir has a capacity of 79,000 acre feet (97,000,000 m3) of water. The dam was constructed by laborers from the nearby Taos Pueblo, and contains no reinforcing steel. The dam sits between two granite walls, and as part of the plans, the Springers had to reroute U.S. Route 64 to its current location, over McAvoy Hill.
To help finance the dam, Springer sold some water rights from Eagle Nest Lake to local farmers and ranchers. These original rights are known as vested rights. In 1951, the State of New Mexico adjudicated the watershed of the Cimarron River. This adjudication confirmed Springer's original permit which gave him the right to store surplus and flood water in the Eagle Nest Lake. There were many other court cases, and one of them ended up in the New Mexico State Supreme Court in 1990.
Today, Eagle Nest Lake still serves its intended purpose as a reservoir, which provides irrigation water via the Cimarron River and a complex canal system, to many farmers and ranchers, some as far as 50 miles downstream. Some of the water rights from Eagle Nest Lake have been purchased by local municipalities including Raton and Springer. The villages of Angel Fire, Eagle Nest, and Cimarron can also get their water from the lake.
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