Palo Verde Dam
Encyclopedia
The Palo Verde Dam is a diversion dam
on the Colorado River
in La Paz County, Arizona
, and Riverside County, California
, in the southwestern United States
, approximately 9 miles (14.5 km) northeast of Blythe
. The dam is earthen and rockfill, built solely to divert water into irrigation
canals serving the Palo Verde Irrigation District. It measures 1850 feet (563.9 m) long at its crest, which is at an elevation of 283.5 feet (86.4 m), and stands 46 feet (14 m) high above the riverbed, containing approximately 175000 yd2 of material. Construction of the dam, which began in 1956 and ended in 1958, was authorized by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The dam was constructed to raise the water level of the river after upstream Hoover Dam
was constructed and within two years, severe erosion of the channel of the Colorado River once again occurred unexpectedly.
The dam diverts about 1800 ft3 of water per second to irrigate 121000 acres (489.7 km²) of the Palo Verde Valley and mesa lands on the west side of the Colorado River in California. The headworks
of the diversion canal consists of four 12 feet (3.7 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m) pipes, while the spillway is a gated structure consisting of three 50 feet (15.2 m) long gates separated by 8 feet (2.4 m) thick piers. The control house of the dam is found immediately upstream of the headworks area.
Diversion dam
A diversion dam is the term for a dam that diverts all or a portion of the flow of a river from its natural course. Diversion dams do not generally impound water in a reservoir...
on the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
in La Paz County, Arizona
La Paz County, Arizona
La Paz County is a county in the western part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census its population was 20,489. The county seat is Parker...
, and Riverside County, California
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
, in the southwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, approximately 9 miles (14.5 km) northeast of Blythe
Blythe, California
Blythe is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the "Palo Verde Valley" of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River. Blythe was named after Thomas Blythe, a gold prospector who established primary...
. The dam is earthen and rockfill, built solely to divert water into irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
canals serving the Palo Verde Irrigation District. It measures 1850 feet (563.9 m) long at its crest, which is at an elevation of 283.5 feet (86.4 m), and stands 46 feet (14 m) high above the riverbed, containing approximately 175000 yd2 of material. Construction of the dam, which began in 1956 and ended in 1958, was authorized by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The dam was constructed to raise the water level of the river after upstream Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
was constructed and within two years, severe erosion of the channel of the Colorado River once again occurred unexpectedly.
The dam diverts about 1800 ft3 of water per second to irrigate 121000 acres (489.7 km²) of the Palo Verde Valley and mesa lands on the west side of the Colorado River in California. The headworks
Headworks
Headworks is a civil engineering term for any structure at the head or diversion point of a waterway. It is smaller than a barrage and is used to divert water from a river into a canal or from a large canal into a smaller canal....
of the diversion canal consists of four 12 feet (3.7 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m) pipes, while the spillway is a gated structure consisting of three 50 feet (15.2 m) long gates separated by 8 feet (2.4 m) thick piers. The control house of the dam is found immediately upstream of the headworks area.