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Gavins
Point Dam / Lewis and Clark Lake
Gavins
Point Dam |
Gavind
Point Dam Spillway |
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 LOCATION:
Gavins Point Dam is located near Yankton, SD making it both
the last and the smallest of the six Missouri River Dams. The
Dam is a result of the 1944 Pick-Sloan Plan and has played an
important role in the successful operation of the six main
stem dams and reservoirs on the Upper Missouri River
Basin. The dam was completed in 1957 at a cost of $51
million.
SPECIFICATIONS:
The Dam - Type-Rolled Earth and Chalk Fill /
Height-74 feet / Length-8,7000 / Width of Top-35 feet / Max.
Base Width-850 feet / Fill Quantity-7,000,000 cubic yds
The Spillway - Crest Length-664 feet / Gates-14 tainter
/ Gate Size-40 x 30 / Crest Elevation-1,180 feet m.s.l.
The Powerplant - Generating Units-3 / Generating
Capacity-44,099 kw ea unit
The Lake - Drainage above dam-279,480 sq. miles /
Storage Capacity-492,000 acre ft. / Surface Acres (max.
pool)-31,400 acres Length of max. pool-25 miles / Maximum
depth-45 feet / Shoreline length-90 miles
LINKS:
 U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers - Gavins Point Project Home Page
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Fort Randall Dam / Lake Francis Case
Fort
Randall Dam |
Fort
Randall Dam Spillway |
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DESCRIPTION:
Construction of Fort Randall was started
in 1946 and was completed in 1953. The earth-fill dam
contains 50,200,000 cubic yards (38,380,000 cubic meters) of
earth. The dam is approximately
10,700 feet in length with a maximum height of 165 feet from
the streambed to the top of the dam. Its reservoir can
store 6.1 million acre-feet (7.5 billion cubic meters) of
water. The power plant has a capacity of 320,000 kilowatts,
and began operating in 1954.
Lake Francis Case was named for former South Dakota
Representative and Senator, Francis Higbee Case, who was
instrumental in implementing the construction of the series of
dams and reservoirs along the Missouri River. Lake Francis
Case is 107 miles long, has 540 miles of shoreline, and has a
maximum depth of 140 feet. Water released from the four
upstream dams is stored at Lake Francis Case for the
production of hydroelectric power. The total storage capacity
of the reservoir is 5,494,000 acre-feet. The lake drains an
area of approximately 263,480 square miles.
There are 19 recreation areas located around the reservoir.
They include highly developed campgrounds and day use areas,
moderately developed areas, and primitive areas. Recreation
opportunities at the lake include camping, picnicking,
fishing, hunting, boating, water-skiing, swimming,
bird-watching, hiking, biking, and photography.
LOCATION:
South-central South Dakota near Lake Andes above old Fort
Randall - 12 miles west of Wagner, South Dakota, on South
Dakota Highway 46; or 25 miles northeast of Spencer, Nebraska,
on U.S. Highway 281. Located within the rolling plain of the
Missouri Plateau, and bordered by rugged bluffs, broken by
myriad complex of eroded canyons and ravines.
FORT
RANDALL MILITARY POST:
The Fort Randall Military Post, located on the south side of
the river just below the present site of the dam, was named
for colonel Daniel Randall, a career Army officer who also
served as Deputy Paymaster General of the Army. The site
was selected in 1856 by General William S. Harney, Commander
of the Sioux Expedition.
LINKS:
Fort
Randall Dam Camping Guide
U.S.A.C.E.
- Omaha District Lake Projects - FORT RANDALL / FRANCIS
CASE LAKE
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Big Bend Dam / Lake Sharpe
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DESCRIPTION:
Big Bend Dam is located 35 miles
northwest of Chamberlain, South Dakota. Construction of Big
Bend was started in 1959 and was completed in 1964. The dam
measures approximately 10,570 feet in length with a maximum
height of 95 feet from the streambed to the top of the dam.
Three of the eight turbines generate a capacity of
approximately 67,300 kilowatts of power; the other five
turbines each generate 58,500 kilowatts of power.
Lake Sharpe was named for former South Dakota Governor,
Merrill Q. Sharpe, who was instrumental in implementing the
construction of the series of dams and reservoirs along the
Missouri River. Lake Sharpe is 80 miles long, has 200 miles of
shoreline, and has a maximum depth of 95 feet. Water released
from the three upstream dams is stored at Lake Sharpe for the
production of hydroelectric power. The total storage capacity
of the reservoir is 1,859,000 acre-feet. The lake drains an
area of approximately 249,330 square miles.
There are 19 recreation areas located around the reservoir.
They include highly developed campgrounds and day use areas,
moderately developed areas, and primitive areas. Recreation
opportunities at the lake include camping, picnicking,
fishing, hunting, boating, waterskiing, swimming,
bird-watching, hiking, biking, and photography.
LOCATION:
35 miles northwest of Chamberlain, South Dakota, on South
Dakota Highway 50; or 18 miles northeast of Reliance, South
Dakota on South Dakota Highway 47.
LINKS:
Big
Bend History
Lake
Sharpe Camping Guide
U.S.A.C.E.
- Omaha District Lake Projects - BIG BEND / LAKE SHARPE
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Oahe Dam / Lake Oahe
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Oahe Dam
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Oahe Dam
Spillway
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DESCRIPTION:
Construction of Oahe Dam began
in 1948 and was completed and dedicated by President John F.
Kennedy in 1962. The dam measures 9,300 feet in length with a
maximum height of 245 feet. Each of the seven turbines generate
112,290 kilowatts of power.
Lake Oahe is the 4th-largest man-made reservoir in the United
States. Named for a Sioux council lodge, Lake Oahe extends from
Pierre, South Dakota to Bismarck, North Dakota. The lake is 231
miles long, has 2250 miles of shoreline, and has a maximum
depth of 205 feet. Water released from the two upstream dams is
stored at Lake Oahe for the production of hydroelectric power.
In addition, the water is managed for flood damage reduction,
downstream navigation, fish and wildlife, recreation,
irrigation, public water supply, and improved water quality.
The total storage capacity of the reservoir is 23.5 million
acre-feet. The lake drains an area of approximately 243,490 square miles.
There are 51 recreation areas located around the reservoir.
They include highly developed campgrounds and day use areas,
moderately developed areas, and primitive areas.
LOCATION:
7 miles north of Pierre, South Dakota, on South Dakota Highway
1804; or 5 miles north of Fort Pierre, South Dakota on South
Dakota Highway 1806.
LINKS:
U.S.A.C.E.
- Omaha District Lake Projects - OAHE DAM / LAKE OAHE
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Garrison Dam / Lake Sakakawea
Garrison Dam
Structure |
Garrison Dam
Spillway
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DESCRIPTION:
Garrison Dam is the fifth largest earthen dam
structure in the United States. It backs up the third largest
reservoir in the nation, Lake Sakakawea, named for the Lewis
and Clark Expedition's Shoshone guide. Its purpose: the generation of hydro electric power, flood
control, irrigation, recreation, municipal and industrial water
supply and downstream navigation.
Construction began in 1947 and it was seven years before it was
finished. Cost: $300 million. Lake Sakakawea measures 178 miles in length, has 1,530 miles of
shoreline and covers 382,000 surface acres. The reservoir contains about 32 percent of the stored water in the
Missouri River mainstream system of dams.
The spillway has 28 gates, each gate 29 feet by 40 feet, with
water released hitting a possible 75 miles per hour.
For an average year, the five generating units have a combined
annual output of 2,600,000 megawatt hours of electricity.
LOCATION:
From Bismark, take U.S. Highway 83 north to Junction Highway 200 and then 10 miles west to
Riverdale.
LINKS:
U.S.A.C.E.
- Omaha District Lake Projects - GARRISON DAM / SAKAKAWEA
LAKE
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Fort Peck Dam / Fort Peck Lake
Fort Peck
Dam Structure |
Fort Peck
Dam Spillway |
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DESCRIPTION:
The four-mile long dam was considered the engineering feat of
its time. The dam contains 125.6 million cubic yards of fill,
97 percent of which is hydraulic fill. The remainder consists
of rolled earth sheared from the abutment, which makes up a
3,000-foot section on the west end. Glacial till from that same
abutment formed the core of the final raise of the dam.
The dam also contains nearly 4 million cubic yards of gravel,
more than half a million cubic yards of quarry stone and a
third of a million cubic yards of field stone.
The width of the base is 4,900 feet and was widened
considerably following the slide of 1938. The top of the dam is
50 feet wide and stands 250 feet above the base. Damming height
is 220 feet. The reservoir contained by the dam runs 134 miles long with
some 1,600 miles of shoreline. Total storage exceeds 19 million
acre-feet of water. (An acre-foot is equal to an acre of water
one foot deep.)
FACT:
The "Great Slide of
'38" occurred just after initial completion of Fort Peck
Dam. During the debacle eight men lost their lives, and six
are still buried somewhere in the dam.
Click here to Read the complete story!
LOCATION:
20 miles
southeast of Glasgow, Montana on Montana Highway 24; or 10
miles southwest of Nashua on Montana Highway 117.
LINKS:
U.S.A.C.E.
- Omaha District Lake Projects - FORT PECK DAM / FORT
PECK LAKE
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Daily and forecasted reservoir and river information is
available from the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division
by calling the recorded voice/fax message at (402)
697-2678.
It is also available on the water management section of the
Northwestern Division homepage at www.nwd.usace.army.mil.
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