Chief Joseph Dam

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Chief Joseph Dam
Rufus Woods Lake
Chief Joseph Dam.jpg
Location: State Washington , USA
Tributaries: Columbia River
Drain: Columbia River
Larger places nearby: Bridgeport
Chief Joseph Dam (Washington)
Chief Joseph Dam
Coordinates 47 ° 59 ′ 41 ″  N , 119 ° 39 ′ 4 ″  W Coordinates: 47 ° 59 ′ 41 ″  N , 119 ° 39 ′ 4 ″  W
Data on the structure
Construction time: 1949–1955 (1961?)
Height of the barrier structure : 71.9 m
Crown length: 1 817.2  m
Power plant output: 2620 MW (2457 MW?)
Data on the reservoir
Water surface 34 km²dep1
Storage space 731.5 million m³

The Chief Joseph Dam (English "Chief Joseph Dam") is a 72 m high and 1817 m long dam with a hydroelectric power station on the Columbia River in the USA . It stands 1.5 miles above Bridgeport , Washington .

The dam was originally supposed to be called “Foster Creek Dam” and was planned as part of the 1946 River and Harbor Act. It is used for hydropower generation and irrigation. In 1948 the project was renamed Chief Joseph Dam. Chief Joseph was a chief of the Nez Perce -Indianer that his last years in exile in Colville - Indian Reservation spent.

Construction began in 1949 . The main work and the inlet openings were completed in 1955. The first turbine- generator unit was ready in 1958 . Eleven more turbines were installed between 1973 and 1979 , and the dam wall and water level were raised three meters. In terms of power plant output, the Chief Joseph Dam is the second largest hydroelectric power plant in the USA after the Grand Coulee Dam ; see list of the largest hydropower plants on earth .

The dam (a gravity dam ) stands 877 km above the mouth of the Columbia near Astoria in Oregon . It is operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) Chief Joseph Dam Project Office . The hydropower plant has a capacity of 2620.134 MW. Other sources point to 2457 or 2069 MW. The electricity generated is marketed by the "Bonneville Power Administration".

The reservoir is called Rufus Woods Lake and is 82 km long. Bridgeport State Park is located on the lake near the dam .

See also

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