Ute Lake is located in NE New Mexico and lays in close proximity to Amarillo Texas, Denver Colorado and Santa Fe New Mexico, just off route 66 and interstate 40, the main artery linking Chicago and LA. The lake, which sits at an elevation 3,800 ft., is best known for its numerous coves, inlets, red stone cliffs, world class fishing and high-mountain dessert climate with warm days and cool nights. The Lake is fed by the Canadian River which originates in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains located in Southern Colorado and flows all the way down through the panhandle of Texas. Ute Lake came into existence after the 1963 construction of a 5,750 ft. long dam. In 1984, the Ute Dam was enlarged doubling the surface acreage of the Lake from 4,200 acres to 8,400 acres. Today, Ute Lake is 13 miles-long, extending as far as 1 mile wide and 130 ft. deep.