Heron Dam

Heron Dam is a storage dam Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States, just north of the El Vado Dam. It is owned and operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. The dam is about 9 miles west of the town of Tierra Amarilla.

Construction

The dam was built as part of the San Juan-Chama Project, which transfers water from the San Juan River basin through the 12.8 miles (20.6 km) Azotea Tunnel under the Continental Divide into Willow Creek, where it is stored in Heron Reservoir as part of the Colorado River Storage Project. The dam is located on Willow Creek near the creek's confluence with the Rio Chama. Construction was completed in 1971. The outlet works at El Vado Dam, just downstream from Heron Dam, were enlarged as part of the San Juan-Chama Project so releases from Heron Reservoir could pass unimpeded through the dam. The capacity of the El Vado outlet works was increased to pass 6,600 cubic feet (190 m³) per second.

Structure

The reservoir lies at an elevation of 7,192 feet (2,192 m) above sea level. The earthfill dam is 1,221 feet (372 m) long and 276 feet (84 m) high. Heron Dike, one mile northwest of the dam, helps contain the reservoir. It has a concrete crest spillway with an open chute with a discharge capacity of 600 cubic feet (17 m³) per second. The dam's outlet works include an intake structure, 10 feet (3.0 m) diameter concrete-lined upstream tunnel, gate chamber, 11 feet (3.4 m) modified horseshoe concrete-lined downstream tunnel, and a stilling basin. The discharge capacity is 4,160 cubic feet (118 m³) per second at a reservoir elevation of 7,190.8 feet (2,191.8 m).

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for such activities as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability. Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect water or for storage of water which can be evenly distributed between locations. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees (also known as dikes) are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions.

The word dam can be traced back to Middle English, and before that, from Middle Dutch, as seen in the names of many old cities.

History

Ancient dams

Early dam building took place in Mesopotamia and the Middle East. Dams were used to control the water level, for Mesopotamia's weather affected the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and could be quite unpredictable.

The earliest known dam is the Jawa Dam in Jordan, 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of the capital Amman. This gravity dam featured an originally 9-metre-high (30 ft) and 1 m-wide (3.3 ft) stone wall, supported by a 50 m-wide (160 ft) earth rampart. The structure is dated to 3000 BC.

Damè

Damè is a town and arrondissement in the Atlantique Department of southern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Toffo. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin on February 15, 2002, the arrondissement had a total population of 11,034.

References

Coordinates: 6°51′00″N 2°05′00″E / 6.8500°N 2.0833°E / 6.8500; 2.0833

Damé

Damé is a town in eastern Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of Agnibilékrou Department in Indénié-Djuablin Region, Comoé District. Seven kilometres east of the town is a border crossing with Ghana.

Damé was a commune until March 2012, when it became one of 1126 communes nationwide that were abolished.

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