Morrow Point Dam

Twelve miles downstream from the Blue Mesa Reservoir and Dam, the first double curvature Dam built in the United States, the Morrow Point Dam, creates the Morrow Point Reservoir. Being the first structure of this type in the U.S. makes the Morrow Point Dam and reservoir truly unique!

Being a double-curvature Dam, the structure curves from left to right and, top to bottom. The Dam rises 468 feet (143 m) high from the stream bed. The base of the Dam is 52 feet thick and the top, is a mere 12 feet in width. The Morrow Point Reservoir has a total capacity of 117,190 acre feet of water. And in the event that the reservoir, the Dam penstocks and outlet pipes reach their full capacity, there are four spillway openings at the top of the Dam to allow water to be released into the concrete stilling basin, 350 feet below, creating an breathtaking man-made waterfall!

The power plant chamber is actually tunneled into the canyon wall! The chamber itself is 231 feet long and 57 feet in diameter. Two 83,000 horsepower turbines drive two 60,000 kilowatt generators, providing a total power plant capacity of 173 megawatts. The Morrow Point Dam is part of the Colorado River Storage Project, specifically, the Wayne N. Aspinall Storage Unit on the Gunnison River. The Aspinall Unit involves a 40 mile section of the Gunnison River in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The Dams included in this storage project include, the Blue Mesa Dam, the Morrow Point Dam and the Crystal Dam. In 1959, Secretary of the Interior, Fred Seaton, approved the construction of the Blue Mesa and Morrow Point Dams and Powerplants.

The first bucket of concrete for the Morrow Point Dam was poured on September 3, 1965, the last was placed on June 3, 1967. All total, it took 365,180 cubic yards of concrete to complete the Dam and Powerplant. The construction continued until October 7, 1968 when the Morrow Point Dam was declared fully complete. The Morrow Point Powerplant provides “continuous demand” electrical needs during the irrigation season. The balance of the year it’s variably operated. Waters released downstream from Blue Mesa are held at the Morrow Point for only a short period of time, especially during the irrigation season.

You can view the Morrow Point Dam by turning at the Morrow Point Dam Road in Cimarron Colorado. Immediately after turning off CO-50 there’s the Cimarron Visitors Center and campground. The campground is relatively small, but there are some nice campsites if you’re interested in spending a little more time here exploring the area. This campground is also not far away from the South entrance to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Continue down the Morrow Point Dam Road and you’ll come to a parking area at the base of the Dam. Not only is the view of the Dam itself amazing from here, but there’s also a great view of the Gunnison river as it continues down the canyon once released from the Morrow Point Reservoir. There are picnic tables here as well as restrooms and some interesting information boards that tell more about the history of the area and the Morrow Point Dam.