First Light

Horsetooth Reservoir (often known locally as Horsetooth) is a large reservoir in southern Larimer County, Colorado just west of the city of Fort... more

by Ric Soulen

Title

First Light

Artist

Ric Soulen

Medium

Photograph - Luminism

Description

Horsetooth Reservoir (often known locally as Horsetooth) is a large reservoir in southern Larimer County, Colorado just west of the city of Fort Collins, Colorado. The reservoir sits in the foothills above the town on the western side of the Dakota Hogback, which contains the reservoir along its eastern side. The reservoir runs north-south for approximately 6.5 miles, and is approximately one-half mile wide. The reservoir was constructed in 1949 by the Bureau of Reclamation.

The construction of the reservoir inundated the community of Stout. Prior to construction, the majority of the town moved to a location that today surrounds Horsetooth's South Bay, but a few building foundations, including that of the old school house, are now under water. The reservoir has a capacity of 156,735 acre feet.

Horsetooth Reservoir was created by the construction of four separate large earthen dams, all completed in 1949 and all modernized with a seismic retrofit in 2000-2004.[1] The four dams, listed from north to south, are:

Horsetooth Dam with a height of 155 feet
Soldier Canyon Dam, 226 feet high
Dixon Canyon Dam, 240 feet high
Spring Canyon Dam, 220 feet high

Taken together the dams contain more than 10 million cubic yards of earthfill.

Uploaded

January 24th, 2013