Lake Simtustus
| Pelton Dam | |||||||
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| Coordinates | 44 ° 41 '39 " N , 121 ° 13' 55" W | ||||||
| Data on the structure | |||||||
| Construction time: | 1956-1958 | ||||||
| Height above foundation level : | 62 m | ||||||
| Crown width: | 2.4 m | ||||||
| Base width: | 8 m | ||||||
| Data on the reservoir | |||||||
| Water surface | 2.57 km² | ||||||
| Reservoir length | 12 km | ||||||
| Reservoir width | 300 m | ||||||
The Pelton Dam is a dam in Jefferson County in the US state of Oregon , 11 km north-west of Madras . The Deschutes River is dammed up to Lake Simtustus by the Pelton Dam, which was built between 1956 and 1958 . The 294 m wide concrete arch dam is 62 m high, 8 m wide at its base and 2.4 m wide at the top. Three generators use hydropower to generate electricity for more than 45,000 households.
The Pelton Dam extends 11 km to the Round Butte Dam , a rockfill dam , and fills a narrow canyon, so that the lake is just 90 meters wide to 300 bar. The reservoir is 257 ha in size and between 15 and 47 m deep. In addition to the Deschutes River for several streams flow like the Campbell Creek, the Seekseequa Creek and Willow Creek into the lake. It was named after Simtustus, an Indian scout from Warm Springs , who fought against the Paiute on the side of the US Army in 1867/68 and died in the Warm Springs Reservation in 1926 .
Representatives of the fishing industry wanted to prevent the construction of the dam. However, they could only achieve that fish ladders were built in the Pelton Dam and the operator Portland General Electric had to build a smaller dam wall 4 km downstream. This was completed in 1958 and is intended to regulate the water level of the lower reaches so that there is sufficient water for the fish stocks. In 1982, the united tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation installed a turbine on this wall, which uses water power to supply energy to 7,000 households.
The more than 4 km long fish ladders at Pelton Dam turned out to be useless, as the salmon and other fish probably got to their spawning areas upstream, while the juvenile fish could not find their way downstream due to currents. The Round Butte Dam, completed in 1964, made fish migration even more difficult, so Portland General Electric discontinued the project in 1968.
However, the lake's water is nutrient-rich, making it an ideal habitat for fish and the lake is a well-known fishing spot for trout and other farmed fish. Located at the bottom of the reservoir, Pelton Park is a popular campground in Central Oregon and is frequented by anglers and water sports enthusiasts.
Web links
- Information from Portland General Electric about the dam
- Deschutes and Ochoco National Forest: Lake Simtustus Reservoir
- Lake Simtustus in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
Individual evidence
- ↑ Portland General Electric: Pelton Hydroelectric Project, ( Memento of the original from June 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- ^ The Oregon History Project: Pelton Dam Fish Ladder. Retrieved April 28, 2011 .
- ↑ Lake Simtustus RV Park & Fish Camp. Retrieved May 1, 2011 .
