Theodore Roosevelt Dam

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Theodore Roosevelt speaking at the dedication ceremony in 1911

Roosevelt Dam in 1915

Roosevelt Dam in 1996 after renovations were completed

Theodore Roosevelt Dam is a dam on the Salt River located northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. The dam is 357 feet high and was built between 1905 and 1911, and renovated 1989 - 1996. The Dam is named after Theodore Roosevelt. The dam has a hydroelectric generating capacity of 36,000 kW. The dam forms the Theodore Roosevelt Lake as it impounds the Salt River.

Construction on Roosevelt Dam began in 1903 at the confluence of Tonto Creek and the Salt River. The primary purpose of the project was to provide water storage for the Salt River Project and flood control through the Salt River Valley. The dam was finished in 1911 after several devastating floods had interrupted the construction progress in 1905. At the time of completion in 1911, it was the largest masonry dam in the world with a height of 280 feet (84 meters) and a length of 723 feet (216 meters) while Roosevelt Lake was for a time the world's largest artificial reservoir. The dam was originally known as "Salt River Dam #1", it was not until 1959 that the dam and reservoir were officially named after Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1989, an ambitious expansion and renovation project was begun at Roosevelt Dam. The dam was resurfaced with concrete and its height was raised 77 feet (23 meters) to 357 feet (107 meters) which had the effect of increasing the storage capacity of Roosevelt Lake by roughly 20%. This project was completed in 1996 at a cost of $430 million. Shortly after completion, however, the area entered into a prolonged period of drought, and it would be some time before the newly increased capacity was put to use, with the lake finally reaching historic levels of 97% capacity in early 2008.