Rye Patch Reservoir

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title: "Rye Patch Reservoir" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["humboldt-river", "reservoirs-in-nevada", "dams-in-nevada", "united-states-bureau-of-reclamation-dams", "dams-completed-in-1936", "lakes-of-pershing-county,-nevada", "1936-establishments-in-nevada"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rye_Patch_Reservoir" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox dam"]

Field	Value
name	Rye Patch Dam
image	Rye Patch Dam.jpg
dam_crosses	Humboldt River
location	Pershing County, Nevada
purpose	I
dam_type	Earth-fill
dam_length	1074 ft
dam_height	78 ft
opening	1936
status	In use
operator	Pershing County Water Conservation District
res_name	Rye Patch Reservoir
res_capacity_total	213000 acre.ft
res_surface	11970 acres
res_elevation	4136 ft
coordinates
location_map	USA Nevada
location_map_caption	Location of Rye Patch Dam in Nevada
::

| name = Rye Patch Dam | image = Rye Patch Dam.jpg | image_caption = | name_official = | dam_crosses = Humboldt River | location = Pershing County, Nevada | purpose = I | dam_type = Earth-fill | dam_length = 1074 ft | dam_height = 78 ft | dam_width_base = | dam_width_crest = | dam_elevation_crest = | dam_volume = | spillway_type = | spillway_capacity = | construction_began = | opening = 1936 | status = In use | cost = | owner = | operator = Pershing County Water Conservation District | res_name = Rye Patch Reservoir | res_capacity_total = 213000 acre.ft | res_capacity_active = | res_capacity_inactive= | res_catchment = | res_surface = 11970 acres | res_max_depth = | res_max_length = | res_max_width = | res_elevation = 4136 ft | plant_operator = | plant_turbines = | plant_capacity = | plant_annual_gen = | plant_commission = | plant_decommission = | website = | coordinates = | location_map = USA Nevada | location_map_caption = Location of Rye Patch Dam in Nevada

The Rye Patch Reservoir is a reservoir on the Humboldt River in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is located about 22 miles northeast of the town of Lovelock, and is managed by the Pershing County Water Conservation District. The reservoir stores water for the agricultural area surrounding Lovelock, which is at the far downstream reach of the Humboldt, near the Humboldt Sink. Since the Lovelock area receives a mere 5.76 inches of rain annually, agriculture requires irrigation, but the high variability of the Humboldt (which often runs completely dry) means that water storage is necessary for irrigation to be feasible.

Rye Patch Settlement

The settlement of Rye Patch got its start in the early 1860s, and at one time included a school and boarding house. Rye Patch was named for the wild dry grass that grew in the area. In 1869, the Central Pacific Railroad came to the region and the Rye Patch station opened. The stamp mill at Rye Patch processed ore from the mines at Star City, Unionville and Rochester until the late 1870s. The Rye Patch Post Office was in operation from June 1872 until November 1916.

Rye Patch Dam

In 1933, the Bureau of Reclamation decided to build the Rye Patch Dam to impound the Humboldt and create the reservoir. The dam was built between 1935 and 1936 to the west of Rye Patch station. A New Deal project intended to help fight the Great Depression, the dam was funded by the Public Works Administration and employed workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps. The dam was expanded in 1975–1976, raising the dam 3 feet to provide the reservoir with more storage capacity.

Rye Patch Reservoir also includes the Pitt–Taylor Reservoirs, two off-stream storage basins that predate Rye Patch. They were built in 1913 by Humboldt–Lovelock Irrigation, Light and Power Company, a private venture run by William C. Pitt, an upper Lovelock Valley rancher, and John G. Taylor, an upper valley farmer and sheep rancher. These reservoirs are less efficient than Rye Patch, losing much water to evaporation, so they are used only for additional capacity in high-flow years.

The reservoir has experienced sedimentation, a problem common to reservoirs in which sediment settles out of the river flow and decreases the capacity of the reservoir. A 1972 study estimated that the reservoir had lost 10% of its capacity to sedimentation since construction.

The reservoir has come under criticism, particularly from upstream users who accuse Lovelock farmers of attempting to monopolize the waters of the Humboldt for their own use. For instance, when the reservoir was nearly drained in 1992 to provide water to the farms, anglers at the Rye Patch State Recreation Area complained of a massive fish kill. The project has also been criticized for single-minded focus on irrigation and skewed cost-benefit ratios. Furthermore, a study by the Nevada State Museum in 1987 concluded that construction of the Rye Patch and Pitt–Taylor Reservoirs flooded archaeological and paleontological sites that showed evidence of prehistoric human habitation.

Climate

| width = auto | collapsed = | single line = yes | location = Rye Patch Dam (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1935–present)

| Jan record high F = 68 | Feb record high F = 75 | Mar record high F = 83 | Apr record high F = 92 | May record high F = 101 | Jun record high F = 109 | Jul record high F = 111 | Aug record high F = 108 | Sep record high F = 107 | Oct record high F = 94 | Nov record high F = 79 | Dec record high F = 68

| Jan high F = 43.2 | Feb high F = 49.6 | Mar high F = 58.8 | Apr high F = 64.7 | May high F = 74.4 | Jun high F = 85.0 | Jul high F = 95.4 | Aug high F = 92.8 | Sep high F = 83.7 | Oct high F = 69.4 | Nov high F = 54.1 | Dec high F = 42.6 | year high F = 67.8

| Jan mean F = 31.7 | Feb mean F = 36.6 | Mar mean F = 43.4 | Apr mean F = 48.4 | May mean F = 57.3 | Jun mean F = 66.2 | Jul mean F = 74.6 | Aug mean F = 71.7 | Sep mean F = 62.9 | Oct mean F = 50.5 | Nov mean F = 39.2 | Dec mean F = 30.4 | year mean F = 51.1

| Jan low F = 20.1 | Feb low F = 23.6 | Mar low F = 28.1 | Apr low F = 32.1 | May low F = 40.2 | Jun low F = 47.3 | Jul low F = 53.7 | Aug low F = 50.5 | Sep low F = 42.1 | Oct low F = 31.5 | Nov low F = 24.2 | Dec low F = 18.3 | year low F = 34.3

| Jan record low F = -29 | Feb record low F = -21 | Mar record low F = -10 | Apr record low F = 6 | May record low F = 12 | Jun record low F = 25 | Jul record low F = 30 | Aug record low F = 30 | Sep record low F = 17 | Oct record low F = 4 | Nov record low F = -10 | Dec record low F = -24

| precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation inch = 1.00 | Feb precipitation inch = 0.73 | Mar precipitation inch = 0.84 | Apr precipitation inch = 0.87 | May precipitation inch = 1.20 | Jun precipitation inch = 0.70 | Jul precipitation inch = 0.21 | Aug precipitation inch = 0.29 | Sep precipitation inch = 0.30 | Oct precipitation inch = 0.63 | Nov precipitation inch = 0.69 | Dec precipitation inch = 0.86 | year precipitation inch = 8.32

| Jan snow inch = 0.8 | Feb snow inch = 0.2 | Mar snow inch = 0.1 | Apr snow inch = 0.3 | May snow inch = 0.0 | Jun snow inch = 0.0 | Jul snow inch = 0.0 | Aug snow inch = 0.0 | Sep snow inch = 0.0 | Oct snow inch = 0.0 | Nov snow inch = 0.3 | Dec snow inch = 1.6 | year snow inch = 3.3

| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in | Jan precipitation days = 5.6 | Feb precipitation days = 5.3 | Mar precipitation days = 6.1 | Apr precipitation days = 5.8 | May precipitation days = 6.3 | Jun precipitation days = 2.9 | Jul precipitation days = 1.6 | Aug precipitation days = 1.5 | Sep precipitation days = 2.3 | Oct precipitation days = 3.2 | Nov precipitation days = 4.7 | Dec precipitation days = 5.3 | year precipitation days = 50.6

| unit snow days = 0.1 in | Jan snow days = 1.0 | Feb snow days = 0.3 | Mar snow days = 0.1 | Apr snow days = 0.1 | May snow days = 0.0 | Jun snow days = 0.0 | Jul snow days = 0.0 | Aug snow days = 0.0 | Sep snow days = 0.0 | Oct snow days = 0.0 | Nov snow days = 0.4 | Dec snow days = 1.0 | year snow days = 2.9

| source = NOAA{{cite web |url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=rev |title = NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = December 10, 2025}}{{cite web |url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00267192&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL |title = Summary of Monthly Normals 1991-2020 |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = December 10, 2025}}

Notes

References

1. "Dam details – Rye Patch Dam – Bureau of Reclamation".
2. Horton, Gary A.. (2000). "Humboldt River Chronology: an Overview". Nevada Division of Water Planning.
3. {{cite GNIS. 858164. Rye Patch Reservoir. Jan 17, 2021
4. Autobee, Robert. "Humboldt Project". Bureau of Reclamation.
5. (September 25, 2019). "Emigrant Trail pioneers could only dream of finding a place like Rye Patch". [[Nevada Appeal]].
6. Federal Writers' Project. (1941). "Origin of Place Names: Nevada". W.P.A..
7. {{GNIS. 858162. Rye Patch
8. {{GNIS. 864665. Rye Patch Post Office (historical)
9. "Humboldt River Chronology: Part III—Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries". Nevada Division of Water Resources.
10. Rice, F. Eugene, and Bruce L. Rice. "Bathymetric Reconnaissance of Rye Patch Reservoir and the Pitt–Taylor Reservoirs, Pershing County, Nevada." Map. U.S. Geological Survey Library, Reston, VA. Carson City, NV: Nevada Division of Water Resources, 1972. Print. Water Resources Information Series Report, Vol. 13.
11. McColm, Merlin. (11 June 2012). "Argenta Marsh". Nvwf.org.

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