Flaming Gorge Reservoir

Flaming Gorge Reservoir
Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah
Flaming Gorge Reservoir Flaming Gorge Reservoir Flaming Gorge Reservoir
Location	Sweetwater County, Wyoming / Daggett County, Utah, US
Coordinates	41°09′41″N 109°33′04″W
Lake type	Hydroelectric reservoir
Primary inflows	Green River Blacks Fork Henrys Fork
Primary outflows	Green River
Catchment area	39,100 km2 (15,100 sq. miles)
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	42,020 acres (170 km2)
Water volume	3,788,900 acre⋅ft (4.6735 km3)
Surface elevation	6,040 ft (1841 m)
Settlements	Manila, Utah; Dutch John, Utah; Green River, Wyoming

Flaming Gorge Reservoir is the largest reservoir in Wyoming, on the Green River, impounded behind the Flaming Gorge Dam. Construction on the dam began in 1958 and was completed in 1964. The reservoir stores 3,788,900 acre-feet (4.6735×10⁹ m³) of water when measured at an elevation of 6,040 feet (1,841 m) above sea-level (maximum).

Location

The reservoir is mainly in southwest Wyoming and partially in northeastern Utah. The northern tip of the reservoir is 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Green River, Wyoming, 14 mi (23 km) southwest of Rock Springs, Wyoming, and the Southern tip is approximately 40 miles (64 km) north of Vernal, Utah. The lake straddles the Utah-Wyoming border. The nearby town of Dutch John, Utah, was built to serve as a base camp during construction of the dam, and as an administrative site afterwards.

Aerial view of Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming

Drainage basin of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir

Geology

The foundation of the reservoir is a steep-sided narrow canyon composed of siliceous sandstone and hard quartzites inter-bedded with softer shales, siltstones, and argillites. About 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of the dam, a road cut has revealed a fault scarp on the southbound side with about 9 feet (3 m) of slippage.

Recreation

Visitors enjoy hiking, boating, fishing, windsurfing, camping, backpacking, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling within Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, which is operated by Ashley National Forest. Camp sites can be found close to the dam and along Highway 191 for a fee, as well as free throughout the area. Campgrounds operated by the U.S. Forest Service close in the winter months, with the exception of Dripping Springs near Dutch John. There are also public camp sites at Buck Board and Lucerne Marinas, along Highway 530 on the west side of the reservoir. The many available fish species in the reservoir and surrounding lakes are Colorado River Cutthroat trout, Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Lake trout, Kokanee salmon, Smallmouth bass, Burbot and Common carp. The Green River is a popular spot for fishing, mainly below the dam. The river's ice cold water and beautiful structure make it a world class, world-renowned fly fishing stream.

See also

• List of largest reservoirs of Wyoming

Further reading

• Webb, Roy (2012). Lost Canyons of the Green River: The Story before Flaming Gorge Dam. ISBN 978-1-60781-179-4.

External links

• Ashley National Forest: official Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area website
• Utah Division of Wildlife Resources: Flaming Gorge Reservoir Archived 2006-06-21 at the Wayback Machine
• "Report on Flaming Gorge Reservoir" (PDF). (108 KiB) from the Utah Division of Water Quality
• Flaming Gorge Fishing Info
• United States Bureau of Reclamation−USBR.gov: Flaming Gorge Dam Environmental Impact Statement Archived 2015-04-03 at the Wayback Machine

A panorama of Flaming Gorge Reservoir taken from the observation platform on Highway 191 during the summer.