| Gavins Point Dam |
The dam, reservoir to left |
|
Location of Gavins Point Dam
|
| Country |
United States |
| Location |
Yankton, South Dakota |
| Coordinates |
42°51′43″N 97°29′06″W / 42.86194°N 97.485°W / 42.86194; -97.485Coordinates: 42°51′43″N 97°29′06″W / 42.86194°N 97.485°W / 42.86194; -97.485 |
| Status |
Operational |
| Construction began |
1952 |
| Opening date |
1957 |
| Owner(s) |
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Dam and spillways |
| Type of dam |
Embankment, rolled-earth and chalk-fill |
| Height |
74 ft (23 m) |
| Length |
8,700 ft (2,652 m) |
| Crest width |
35 ft (11 m) |
| Base width |
850 ft (259 m) |
| Volume |
7,000,000 cu yd (5,351,884 m3) |
| Impounds |
Missouri River |
| Reservoir |
| Creates |
Lewis and Clark Lake |
| Capacity |
492,000 acre·ft (606,873,064 m3) |
| Catchment area |
279,480 sq mi (723,850 km2) |
| Surface area |
31,400 acres (127 km2) |
| Max. water depth |
45 ft (14 m) |
| Reservoir length |
25 mi (40 km) |
| Power station |
| Turbines |
3 x 44 MW |
| Installed capacity |
132 MW |
Tom Brokaw greeting the 20,000th visitor to the dam in 1958. Brokaw was a tour guide at the dam.
The dam releasing a record 150,000 cubic square feet of water/second on June 14, 2011 as a result of the
2011 Missouri River Floods. The release was more than twice the previous record in 1997.
[1]
Gavins Point Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Missouri River in the U.S. states of Nebraska and South Dakota. Built from 1952 to 1957, it impounds Lewis and Clark Lake. The dam is on the Nebraska-South Dakota border, west of Yankton, South Dakota.
Gavins Point Dam is the lowermost dam on the Missouri, and was built as part of the Pick-Sloan Plan. The dam area (with Lewis and Clark Lake) is a very popular regional tourist destination.[2]
The stretch of the Missouri immediately downstream of Gavins Point Dam is the only significant section of non-channelized meandering stream on the lower portion of the river. This federally-designated Wild and Scenic River is among the last free-flowing stretches of the Missouri; it exhibits the islands, bars, chutes, and snags that once characterized the "Mighty Mo".
The dam has a hydroelectric plant with three generators, each having a nameplate capacity of 44,099 kW, for a total of 132.297 MW.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
