This page features photos of the Dolores River and McPhee Reservoir in southwest Colorado.
The Dolores River begins in the San Juan Mountains and travels about 230 miles before emptying into the Colorado River in Utah, northeast of Moab.
The flow of the Dolores and the river’s ecology have been severely impacted by the construction of McPhee Dam, which was completed in 1984 and built primarily to supply irrigation water.
When these photos were taken on September 2, 2026, McPhee was 42% full after a historic snow drought the previous winter.
For more photos of the Dolores River, see these entries in our free multimedia library:
Photos: Dolores River and McPhee Reservoir, May 2023
Photos and videos: Dolores River, September 2020
Photos and videos: Hanging Flume and Dolores River
| Date | September 2, 2026 |
| Location | Dolores River and McPhee Reservoir, Colorado (map) |
| Credit | Mitch Tobin/The Water Desk |
| Rights | Free to reuse under Creative Commons license. |
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