Editing Elephant Butte Reservoir (section)

{{short description|Reservoir on the Rio Grande in New Mexico, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{infobox body of water
  | name       =  Elephant Butte Reservoir
  | image     =   Butte at sunset.jpg
  | lake_type           =  [[Hydroelectricity|Hydroelectric]] [[reservoir]]
  | location       =  [[Sierra County, New Mexico]]
  | basin_countries = United States
  | coords         =  {{coord|33|14|19.43|N|107|10|26.23|W|type:waterbody_region:US-NM|display=inline,title}}
  | inflow         = [[Rio Grande]]
  |outflow        = [[Rio Grande]]
  |area = {{convert|36500|acre|abbr=on}}
  | depth          =
  |max-depth      =
  | elevation = {{convert|4414|ft|abbr=on}}
  | volume         =  {{convert|2065010|acre.ft|km3|abbr=on|lk=in}}
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| pushpin_label_position  = 
| pushpin_map_alt         = Location of Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico, USA.
| pushpin_map_caption     = 
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'''Elephant Butte Reservoir''' is a [[reservoir]] on the southern part of the [[Rio Grande]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[New Mexico]], {{convert|5|mi|km}} north of [[Truth or Consequences, New Mexico|Truth or Consequences]]. The reservoir is the 84th largest man-made lake in the United States and the largest in New Mexico by total surface area and peak volume. It is the only place in New Mexico that one can find pelicans perched on or alongside the lake. There are also temporary US Coast Guard bases stationed at Elephant Butte. It is impounded by [[Elephant Butte Dam]] and is part of the largest [[List of New Mexico state parks|state park]] in New Mexico, [[Elephant Butte Lake State Park]].<ref name=UDOI>{{cite web | date = May 1, 2004 | url = http://www.recreation.gov/recAreaDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&recAreaId=100 | title = Elephant Butte Reservoir | work = USDOI data | publisher = Bureau of Reclamation | access-date = September 2, 2008}}</ref>

The reservoir is part of the [[Rio Grande Project]] to provide power and irrigation to south-central New Mexico and western [[Texas]]. It began to be filled in 1915 and 1916 and at highstand was the largest man-made lake in the world.<ref name=bor>{{cite web|date=December 28, 2005 |url=http://www.usbr.gov/power/data/sites/elephant/elephant.html |title=Elephant Butte Powerplant |work=Rio Grande Project |publisher=Bureau of Reclamation |access-date=October 11, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926130025/http://www.usbr.gov/power/data/sites/elephant/elephant.html |archive-date=September 26, 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="AJ" />

The reservoir can hold {{convert|2,065,010|acre.ft|m3|lk=in}} of water<ref name=bor/> from a drainage of 28,900 square miles (74,850&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>).<ref name=dataweb>{{cite web | date = August 22, 2006 | url = http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Facility.jsp?fac_Name=Elephant+Butte+Dam&groupName=General | title = Elephant Butte Dam | work = Dataweb | publisher = Bureau of Reclamation | access-date = October 11, 2006 | archive-date = June 14, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110614222031/http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Facility.jsp?fac_Name=Elephant+Butte+Dam&groupName=General | url-status = dead }}</ref> It provides irrigation to 178,000 acres (720&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land.<ref name=bor/>

[[Fishing]] is a popular recreational activity on the reservoir, which contains [[striped bass]], [[white bass]], [[largemouth bass]], [[crappie]], [[walleye]] and [[catfish]].