Amistad Dam
Amistad Dam (Spanish: Presa la Amistad) is a major embankment dam across the Rio Grande between Texas, United States, and Coahuila, Mexico. Built to provide irrigation water storage, flood control, and hydropower generation, it is the largest dam along the international boundary reach of the Rio Grande. The dam is over 6 miles (9.7 km) long, lies mostly on the Mexican side of the border, and forms Amistad Reservoir. It supplies water for irrigation in the Rio Grande Valley, 574 miles (924 km) upstream of the Rio Grande's mouth on the Gulf of Mexico at Brownsville, Texas/Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
| Amistad Dam | |
|---|---|
Amistad Dam | |
| Country | United States / Mexico |
| Location | Val Verde County, Texas / Acuña Municipality, Coahuila |
| Coordinates | 29°27′01″N 101°03′28″W |
| Status | In use |
| Construction began | 1963 |
| Opening date | 1969 |
| Construction cost | US$125 million ($808 million in 2014) |
| Owner(s) | International Boundary and Water Commission |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Earthfill |
| Impounds | Rio Grande |
| Height | 254 ft (77 m) |
| Length | 32,022 ft (9,760 m) |
| Dam volume | 17,055,000 cu yd (13,039,000 m3) |
| Spillway type | Ogee crest, 16 tainter gates |
| Spillway capacity | 1,507,000 cu ft/s (42,700 m3/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Amistad Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 5,658,600 acre⋅ft (6.9798 km3) |
| Surface area | 64,900 acres (26,300 ha) |
| Power Station | |
| Hydraulic head | 234 ft (71 m) |
| Turbines | 4x Francis |
| Installed capacity | 132 MW |
The dam is owned and operated by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), and also facilitates the Amistad Dam Port of Entry. Amistad is derived from the Spanish word for "friendship", representing the two nations' cooperation on the dam.