Historical Marker

Red Bluff Dam

Historical marker location:

US 285, about 3 mi. N of Orla, Orla, Texas

( On US 285 about 3 miles N of Orla)

(Three miles northeast) Constructed for irrigation and electrical power purposes during 1934-36, dam is located on Pecos River 8 miles south of Texas-New Mexico state line. It impounds an 11,700-acre lake occupying parts of Reeves and Loving counties, Tex., and Eddy County, N. M. Floods first filled the reservoir in June 1937. Capacity is 310,000 acre feet of water. Main embankment -- 9,230 feet long -- rises 105 feet above stream bed at highest point. Dam has top width of 25 feet. These waters irrigate about 140,000 acres, which extend for 100 miles along the Pecos River. (1972).