This page in our free multimedia library features aerial photos of the Rio Grande and Cochiti Dam and Lake in New Mexico.
This portion of the flight covers the area upstream from the reservoir, from around Española down to the dam, which was built from 1965 to 1975 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, primarily for flood control.
Located about 50 miles upstream from Albuquerque, Cochiti Dam is 251 feet high and five miles long, making it one of the nation’s largest earthen dams.
While the dam reduces flooding, provides for recreation, and helps supply water for endangered species downstream, it was built “over opposition from many tribal members” from the Pueblo of Cochiti, according to a New Mexico In Depth story by Laura Paskus, who notes that “the lake inundated sacred lands as well as fields the tribe had tended for centuries.”
Our free multimedia library also contains photos of the Rio Grande farther upstream, near its headwaters, and drone-captured photos/videos of the Rio Grande Gorge in northern New Mexico. We also have additional drone imagery of the Rio Grande in New Mexico near the Taos Junction Bridge, San Antonio and Fort Craig.
| Date | June 25, 2024 |
| Location | Cochiti Lake, New Mexico (map) |
| Credit | Mitch Tobin/The Water Desk with aerial support by LightHawk |
| Rights | Free to reuse under Creative Commons license. |
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