McPhee Reservoir

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.

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 completed in 1985 across Dolores Canyon.

Dams

The reservoir has two dams. First, McPhee Dam, NID ID CO02707, is a 295-foot (90-meter) high rockfill and earthen dam that can store up to 399,200 acre-feet (492,400,000 cubic meters) of water. It was built in 1983 and is 1,300 feet (400 meters) wide. The second dam, the Mcphee Great Cut Dike, NID ID CO02707S001, is a 75-foot (23-meter) high earthen dam. It was built in 1984 and is 2,006 feet (611 meters) wide.