The Álvaro Obregón Dam is an embankment dam

Embankment dam

An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...

 on the Yaqui River

Yaqui River

The Yaqui River is a river in the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. Being the largest river system in the state of Sonora, the Yaqui river is used for irrigation....

 north of Ciudad Obregón

Ciudad Obregón

Ciudad Obregon is the second largest city in the northern Mexican state of Sonora and is situated south of the state's northern border with the U.S. state of Arizona. It is also the municipal seat of Cajeme municipality, located in the Yaqui Valley.- History :...

, in Sonora

Sonora

Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. The purpose of the dam is water supply for irrigation, flood control and hydroelectric power production. The dam supports a power station with two generators and a 19 MW installed capacity.

Background

Because of drought, the Álvaro Obregón Dam and others on the Sonora and Mayo Rivers were constructed in the 1940s and 1950s. Construction on the Álvaro Obregón Dam began in 1947 and was complete in 1952. The dam's power station was not operational until August 1957. The dam is 57 m (187 ft) above the riverbed and 1457 m (4,780 ft) long. The dam has an additional saddle dam 2 km (1 mi) to its northwest and along with a system of canals, it helps irrigate 83% of a 232999 ha (900 sq mi) area. Because of drought in the 1990s and 2000s, 2004 was the first year that water from the dam's reservoir was not authorized for irrigation.