
Built as part of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Colorado River Storage Project, the Flaming Gorge Dam was completed in 1964 on the Green River, which flows south into Utah and later joins
the Colorado River. While the dam itself is located in Utah, most of the reservoir
is in Wyoming and supplies both hydropower and tourism to Green River, Wyoming. In
wet seasons, the dam acts as a storage area for water that will be released during
dryer parts of the year as well as equalizing the river flows year round.
Part of the motivation behind the construction of Flaming Gorge was the Colorado River
Basin Compact in 1922. The compact was created to endure that the states in the upper
part of the basin would receive their fair share of water by building dams to store
water and regulate flow. This led to the Colorado River Storage Act of 1956 which
helped fun this and other projects. The Flaming Gorge Dam helped promote energy development
in Wyoming as well as help bring people to Wyoming.
This article is provided through our partnership with the Wyoming State Historical Society.