Garrison Dam

Garrison Dam is a major earth embankment dam on the Missouri River in central North Dakota. At over two miles in length, it is the fifth-largest earthen dam in the world, constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1947-53. [https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/Lake_Proj/garrison/dam.html] The reservoir impounded by the dam is Lake Sakakawea, which extends to Williston and the confluence with the Yellowstone River, near the Montana border.

Garrison Dam is located between Riverdale and Pick City, named after the town of Garrison, directly north of the dam, across the reservoir. The dam is approximately midway between Bismarck and Minot, about 10 miles (16 km) west of U.S. highway 83.

Hydropower turbines at Garrison Dam have an electric power generating capacity of 515 megawatts. Their average production is less than half of capacity at 240 megawatts, serving several hundred thousand customers.

Construction on the $294 million dam project began in 1947, and its embankment was enclosed in April 1953. The dam was dedicated by President Eisenhower two months later. Earthwork was completed in the fall of 1954 by the Corps of Engineers as part of a flood control and power generation project along the river.

The [http://www.fws.gov/garrisondam/ Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery] is the world's largest walleye and northern pike producing facility and also works to restore endangered species, such as the pallid sturgeon.

tatistics

*Dam length: 11,300 ft (2.1 mi., 3.4 km) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, [http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/projdata/summaryengdat.pdf] ]
*Dam height: 210 ft (64 m)
*Dam dedication: June 1953 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
*Garrison dam construction: 1947-53; $300 million; 9 million truckloads of dirt; as 80 000 yd³ (60 000 m³) of earth being moved daily.

References

External links

* [http://discovernd.com/gnf/ndoutdoors/issues/2003/jun/docs/garrison-dam.pdf Discover ND.com] - Garrison Dam: A Half Century Later - June 2003
* [http://www.fws.gov/garrisondam/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service] - Garrison Dam
* [http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/Lake_Proj/garrison/dam.html U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] - Garrison Dam
* [http://www.mhanation.com/main/history/history_garrison_dam.html Mandan, Hidatsa, & Arikara Nation.com] - article on the Garrison Dam