Photos and videos: Navajo Lake and San Juan River, April 2021

This page features drone-captured videos and images of Navajo Lake, a reservoir that impounds the San Juan River in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.

Completed in 1962, Navajo Dam is part of the Colorado River Storage Project. The 402-foot earthen dam was built for irrigation, flood control and water storage. A small hydroelectric plant was added after construction.

Navajo Lake is the second largest lake in New Mexico and a popular recreation site, but drought and aridification have depleted the reservoir in recent years.

DateApril 2, 2021
LocationNavajo Lake, Colorado (map)
PhotographerMitch Tobin
OrganizationThe Water Desk at the University of Colorado Boulder
RightsFree to reuse under Creative Commons license, with credit to Mitch Tobin, The Water Desk

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