American Falls Reservoir

American Falls Reservoir
American Falls Reservoir dam 1947
Location: Idaho , United States of America Tributaries: Snake River Drain: Snake River Larger cities on the shore: American Falls (Idaho)
Idaho , United States
Coordinates	42 ° 46 '43 "  N , 112 ° 52' 29"  W Coordinates: 42 ° 46 '43 "  N , 112 ° 52' 29"  W
Data on the structure
Lock type:	Gravity dam , dam with sealing core
Construction time:	1925-1927 / 1976-1978
Height of the barrier structure :	31.7 m (104  ft )
Height above the river bed :	23.8 m (78 ft)
Height of the structure crown:	1330.9 m (4366.5 ft)
Building volume:	49,696.07 m³ (65,000  yd³ )
Crown length:	1,608.4 m (5277 ft)
Crown width:	13 m (42.5 ft)
Base width:	18 m (59 ft)
Data on the reservoir
Altitude (at congestion destination )	1327.3 m (4354.5 ft)
Water surface	226.6
Storage space	2063.1 million m³ (1,672,590  acre-ft )
Aerial view of today's dam

The American Falls Reservoir is a lake on the Snake River in the southeast of the US state Idaho that is dammed by the American Falls Dam . It is located in the three counties of Power County , Bingham County and Bannock County .

dam

The first work on the dam began in 1925 as part of the Minidoka project by the Utah Construction Company. They lasted until April 1927. The former town of American Falls, three quarters of which was in the planned storage area, had to be relocated. The reservoir, measuring 2096 million m³ (1.7 million acre-ft), 40.2 km (25  mi ) in length and 5.6 km (3.5 mi) in width, was that at the time of its construction second largest reservoir for irrigation in the United States. In 1976, work began on a new gravity dam, which was completed in 1978.

When the dam of the Teton Dam located above broke on June 5, 1976, the American Falls Dam was also affected by the tidal wave. The engineers reportedly drained the water before the high tide came. However, this representation is contradicted by others; According to this information, the drained water volumes remained almost constant, while several days after the Teton Dam burst, greatly increased inflows to the American Falls reservoir were recorded. The dam held out until the tide was over.

The dam is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation and Power County. In addition to the water supply, it is used for energy supply ( Idaho Power ) and as flood protection. The area of ​​the reservoir is 226.6 km², with a bank stretch of over 201 km. The water capacity is 2.06 km³. It is the largest reservoir in Idaho.

free time activities

The American Falls Reservoir is used by many locals as a recreational area. The leisure activities are diverse, such as For example: boating, canoeing, fishing, swimming, jet skiing, water skiing or windsurfing.

As a popular fishing destination, the lake offers many species of fish. The rainbow trout is the most common . Since 1981, 3,600 kg of rainbow trout have been released annually to replenish the fish population. In addition, good catch results for brown trout , cutthroat trout , sunfish , American perch , whitefish , catfish and catfish can be achieved.

This region is also very popular with bird watchers, as it is home to well over 200 species of birds.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} American Falls Dam - details. In: usbr.gov. Bureau of Reclamation , January 1, 2015, accessed January 20, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Eric A. Stene: Minidoka Project. (PDF; 88.9KB) In: usbr.gov. Bureau of Reclamation , 1997, p. 11 , accessed January 20, 2020 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Jedediah S. Rogers: Michaud Flats Project. (PDF; 58.7KB) In: usbr.gov. Bureau of Reclamation , 2006, p. 6 , accessed January 20, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Idaho: Minidoka Dam. In: nps.gov. National Park Service , January 13, 2017, accessed January 20, 2020 . 
5. ^ Teton Dam Failure. Actual Data for American Falls  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

• Overview and data to the American Falls Dam (English)