Chatfield Lake lies on the South Platte River at its confluence with Plum Creek, near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains about 25 miles southwest of downtown Denver. The lake is 2 miles long and has an average depth of 47 feet. The lake drains an area of approximately 3,018 square miles. The 1,479-surface-acre lake has a storage capacity of 27,046 acre-feet.