Shared by the departments of Rivadavia and Luján de Cuyo is the El Carrizal Dam. This marvelous mirror of water has become a sports and tourist complex.
The dam is made of soil and stone, with a core and a base both made of clay, storing a mirror of water of 15 Km. long and 4 Km. wide. Its purpose is to control the fluctuating flow of River Tunuyán, for its irrigation use.
The water of the reservoir is passed through a turbine for hydroelectricity in a hydroelectric power plant, built in 1971, with an installed generation capacity of 17 MW.
By continuing through the road that reaches the East side of the dam, we cross the wall where we can observe the blue water of the lake and the spillway. On that margin, many nautical clubs were settled, such as: Yacht Club Mendoza, Club de Pesca and Náutica Rivadavia (with a windsurf school) Martín Pescador, and El Pelícano, among others. In the western margin, we find Club Mendoza de Regatas.
Works for the reservoir began in the 1970s and, even if the installation of the sportive and the recreational equipment was not planned, it was developed spontaneously. The area has abundant forestry, which is ideal for camping with a good infrastructure.
Among the sport activities carried out there, we find horseback ridings, trekking, hiking, and fishing. Adventure tourism has an important development in the surrounding areas. Among the nautical sports, we find windsurf, water skiing, powerboating, canoeing and fishing.