McPhee Reservoir

McPhee Reservoir is located in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. It was constructed and is operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation as part of the Dolores Project, and dams the Dolores River to furnish municipal and irrigation water for Montezuma and Dolores counties and the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation.

McPhee Reservoir
McPhee Reservoir and dam, 2013
McPhee Reservoir Show map of Colorado McPhee Reservoir Show map of the United States
Location	Montezuma County, Colorado
Coordinates	37°34′39″N 108°34′20″W / 37.57750°N 108.57222°W / 37.57750; -108.57222
Type	reservoir
Primary outflows	Dolores River
Basin countries	United States
Water volume	381,051 acre⋅ft (470,019,000 m3)
Surface elevation	6,929 ft (2,112 m)[1]
Settlements	McPhee, Colorado, a ghost town beneath the lake

McPhee Reservoir is named for McPhee, Colorado, a company town founded by the New Mexico Lumber Company that is now submerged under the reservoir. In 1927, the McPhee sawmill produced over half of Colorado's lumber. The town housed up to 1,500 employees. The sawmill closed in 1946.^[2]

The lake itself may be accessed from near Dolores, Colorado, by state highways 145 and 184, and offers various boat-launching facilities, picnic areas, and campgrounds in the McPhee Recreation Area operated by the U.S. Forest Service. The lake fills the lower end of the Dolores Valley, with the dam^[3] completed in 1985 across Dolores Canyon.