A red sun low over Slim Lake through wildfire haze, its reflection a column of orange on the water

Reservoirs in New Mexico

39 of 326 measured New Mexico lakes (12%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 36 carry a High or Significant hazard rating.

Reading the New Mexico reservoir landscape

39 reservoirs in New Mexico appear in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. That's a meaningful share — reservoir lakes carry their own ecology and access patterns distinct from natural lakes, including managed water levels, drawdowns timed to the dam's purpose, and shoreline mix dominated by structures built post-impoundment.

Recreation is the headline purpose for the largest share of New Mexico's reservoirs — lakes where the dam exists explicitly to create surface water for fishing, boating, and adjacent shoreline development. Pool levels are typically maintained more stably than at flood-control or hydro reservoirs, which supports fixed-dock access, consistent boat ramps, and the kind of shoreline economy that natural-lake counterparts in the state share.

The USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID) catalogs every dam in the United States above a size threshold — typically 25 feet in height or 50 acre-feet in maximum storage, plus all dams classified as high-hazard regardless of size. The reservoir records below pull NID fields (year built, hazard class, maximum storage, surface area at normal pool, dam length, primary purpose) and pair them with water-quality data where the impoundment also appears in EPA's lake-monitoring inventory.

Why these New Mexico reservoirs were built

Recreation

Irrigation

Flood Risk Reduction

Water Supply

Other

Total reservoirs

176,937

Total surface acres

5,086,850

Normal storage (ac-ft)

High or Significant hazard

All 39 New Mexico reservoirs (by surface area)

Reservoir	County	Surface area	Year built	Purpose	Hazard
E Butte Lake	Sierra	42,750 ac	1916	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Elephant Butte Reservoir	Sierra	42,750 ac	1920	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Brantley Reservoir Deep	Eddy	39,301 ac	1989	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake	Guadalupe	16,670 ac	1979	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Caballo Lake	Sierra	14,530 ac	1938	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Sumner Lake Dam	De Baca	7,615 ac	1937	Flood Risk Reduction	High
El Vado Reservoir	Rio Arriba	3,380 ac	1935	Irrigation	High
Conchas Reservoir	San Miguel	2,694 ac	1940	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Eagle Nest Lake	Colfax	2,496 ac	1918	Irrigation	High
Bluewater Lake	Cibola	1,730 ac	1927	Irrigation	High
Snow Lake	Catron	539 ac	1967	Recreation	High
Ramah Reservoir Deep	McKinley	514 ac	1900	Irrigation	High
Springer Lake	Colfax	453 ac	1920	Irrigation	High
Lake Farmington Deep	San Juan	198 ac	1964	Water Supply	High
Clayton Lake Deep Dam	Union	175 ac	1955	Recreation	Low
Lake Maloya	Colfax	147.3 ac	1914	Water Supply	High
Quemado Dam Lake	Catron	130 ac	1971	Recreation	High
Mescalero Lake Deep	Otero	104 ac	1974	Recreation	High
Mescalero Lake Shallow	Otero	104 ac	1974	Recreation	High
Santa Cruz Lake	Santa Fe	99.8 ac	1929	Irrigation	High
Six Mile Dam Lake	Eddy	70 ac	1905	Recreation	Low
Bill Evans Lake Deep	Grant	62.5 ac	1969	Other	High
Lake Roberts	Grant	61.2 ac	1963	Recreation	High
Zia Lake	Sandoval	52 ac	1935	Irrigation	Low
Grindstone Canyon Reservoir Deep	Lincoln	38.8 ac	1987	Water Supply	High
Grindstone Caynon Reservoir Inlet	Lincoln	38.8 ac	1987	Water Supply	High
Bear Canyon Reservoir Deep	Grant	35 ac	1937	Irrigation	High
San Gregorio Deep Lake	Rio Arriba	33 ac	1947	Irrigation	High
Fenton Lake	Sandoval	32 ac	1946	Recreation	High
Monte Verde Lake	Colfax	29 ac	1968	Recreation	High
Cabresto Lake Deep	Taos	28.9 ac	2012	Irrigation	High
Alto Lake	Lincoln	15.4 ac	1965	Water Supply	High
Alto Lake Inlet	Lincoln	15.4 ac	1965	Water Supply	High
Hopewell Lake	Rio Arriba	13 ac	1953	Recreation	Significant
Burns Lake Deep	Rio Arriba	11 ac	1940	Recreation	High
Silver Lake Shallow	Otero	9.1 ac	1963	Recreation	High
Silver Lake Deep	Otero	9.1 ac	1963	Recreation	High
Canjilon Lake	Rio Arriba	3 ac	1948	Recreation	Significant
North Shuree Pond	Colfax	—	1971	Recreation	High

Frequently Asked Questions

How many reservoirs are in New Mexico?

39 of 326 measured New Mexico lakes (12%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 36 are rated High or Significant hazard, meaning failure would put downstream lives or property at substantial risk. The oldest matched dam dates to 1900.

What's the largest reservoir in New Mexico?

The largest matched reservoir in New Mexico is E Butte Lake in Sierra County at 42,750 acres of normal surface area, impounded by the Elephant Butte Dam (completed 1916).

What's the difference between a reservoir and a natural lake?

A reservoir is a body of water impounded by a man-made dam — typically built for flood control, hydroelectric power, water supply, irrigation, or recreation. A natural lake formed without human intervention, usually from glacial scouring, volcanic activity, or river meandering. Reservoirs typically have shoreline that fluctuates with seasonal water level management, while natural lakes have more stable shorelines. The USACE National Inventory of Dams classifies every regulated dam in the United States, which is how we identify which LakeQuality lakes are actually reservoirs.

What does the hazard class mean?

USACE assigns each dam a hazard potential classification based on what would happen downstream if the dam failed — NOT how likely the dam is to fail. "Low" hazard means dam failure would cause no probable loss of life and only low economic loss. "Significant" means probable loss of life is unlikely but appreciable economic damage would occur. "High" means probable loss of life and significant economic damage. The classification is about consequence, not condition. Many High-hazard dams are perfectly safe; they're rated High because populated areas have grown downstream over time.

Where does this reservoir data come from?

Every reservoir record on this page is matched to the USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID), the federal database of all dams ≥25 ft tall or impounding ≥50 acre-feet, plus any dam that poses a Significant or High hazard regardless of size. The NID is published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and updated annually. Surface area, storage capacity, dam height, and hazard classification come directly from NID records.

Where to stay near New Mexico reservoirs

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More on reservoirs and water quality

Are Reservoirs Cleaner Than Natural Lakes?

Dam-built reservoirs and natural lakes compared side by side on the same nutrient and algae measurements — the gap, the reasons behind it, and the exceptions.

Do Deeper Lakes Have Better Water Quality?

Surveyed maximum depth against nutrient and algae readings: the pattern, the shallow lakes that still read clean, and why land use beats bathymetry.

Lake Water Quality Explained: What the Readings Mean

How nutrient and algae readings are read against EPA ecoregion condition classes, what each class means in the water, and why a clean reading is not a clearance.

Why Lakes Turn Green: Phosphorus and Nutrient Pollution

How phosphorus and nutrient runoff drive algae growth and turn lakes green, where the nutrients come from, and what it means for a lake’s readings.

Data source

Reservoir data from the USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID), the federal database of all regulated dams. Dam attributes (height, year completed, storage capacity, hazard class) are matched to LakeQuality lakes by proximity and dam-name similarity. Some lakes may be reservoirs that aren't matched if the dam record uses a name substantially different from our lake name.