Elephant Butte Reservoir - History and Dam Construction

History and Dam Construction

Elephant Butte Dam, constructed between 1911 and 1916, with the reservoir fill started in 1915, was a major engineering feat in its day. The enormous concrete dam is the major feature of the Elephant Butte National Register Historic District. New Mexico State Parks operates a visitor center that contains information on the construction of the dam. At the time of its construction, the dam was the largest irrigation dam ever built with the exception of the Aswan Dam in Egypt.

A large construction community sprang up, which included worker camps, railways, water tanks, cableway systems, and the former administration building of the Bureau of Reclamation. The "camps" housed American and Mexican workers throughout the construction of the dam. Many of the former camps ended up under the reservoir itself, while others disappeared altogether.

The former administration building of the Bureau of Reclamation still stands as a bed and breakfast facility, and, along with other structures of the time, are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. When the lake falls over 10 meters (30 feet) below maximum capacity, a set of mysterious concrete ruins rises from the waters. Located near the south-east shore, this 3000 square-foot concrete structure is widely believed to be the remnants of the old field hospital that served the frequently injured dam construction crew. Plans are underway to make the ruins a scuba destination in years of high water-level.