Ross dam

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Ross dam
Dam wall
Dam wall
Location: Washington , USA
Drain: Skagit River
Larger places nearby: Rockport, Newhalem
Ross Dam (Washington)
Ross dam
Coordinates 48 ° 43 '54 "  N , 121 ° 4' 2"  W Coordinates: 48 ° 43 '54 "  N , 121 ° 4' 2"  W.
Data on the structure
Construction time: 1937-1940 / 1949-1953
Height of the barrier structure : 165 m
Crown length: 396 m
Power plant output: 451 MW
Data on the reservoir
Altitude (at congestion destination ) 488.44 m
Water surface 48 km²dep1
Storage space 1770 million m³

The Ross Dam (Ross Dam) was built from 1937 to 1953 on the Skagit River in northern Washington state . It is part of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project , which consists of three dams : Gorge Dam (built in 1961), Diablo Dam (built in 1930) and Ross Dam . The dams supply Seattle and the surrounding area with a quarter of their electricity needs and are owned by Seattle City Light . All three dams are in Whatcom County near Rockport and the city of Newhalem , which is west of the North Cascades National Park .

The reservoir , called Ross Lake , is 39 km long and extends to the Canadian border into British Columbia .

The arch dam of the Ross Dam was built in three phases, each of which was increased. The first phase ran from 1937 to 1940 and the third phase was completed in 1953 when the dam had reached its final height of 165 meters. The dam is on the Rip Raps below Ruby Creek . It was renamed after James Delmage Ross (1872-1939), head of the Skagit River Project . It was originally called Ruby Dam .

The Ross dam is the highest of the three dams. The dam looks like a chessboard made up of five square feet of steps. These have the meaning that the dam wall can easily be raised again by 36 m. Concrete plans in this regard were initially welcomed by the Canadians in the 1960s. However, other large wilderness areas would have been flooded and the city of Hozomeen in Canada would have had to be abandoned. The debate about increasing the dam stretched through the 1970s and culminated in a 1984 contract that allowed Washington to buy Canadian electricity at low prices from British Columbia for 80 years.

The connected hydropower plant has four turbines for generating electricity: three 112 MW and one 115 MW result in a total of 451 MW. In addition to generating electricity, the dam is also used for flood protection.

The area around Ross Lake and its neighboring reservoirs was designated as a nature reserve and recreation area of ​​the type of a National Recreation Area in 1968 under the name Ross Lake National Recreation Area and handed over to the National Park Service for administration. It divides the North Cascades National Park into its north and south parts. Various forms of water sports and recreation on the water take place on the reservoir . The lakes and their tributaries are excellent fishing grounds , and hiking and riding trails run along the lakeside and around Ruby Mountain (2258 m). Several campsites are located on the lakeside.

See also

Web links