Big Bend Dam

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Lake Sharpe with visible Big Bend Dam from space, August 1989

Big Bend Dam is a major rolled earth dam along the Missouri River in central South Dakota.

The dam, 95 feet (29 m) high and 10,570 feet (3.22 km) in length, was constructed as part of the Pick-Sloan Plan for Missouri watershed development authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944. Construction began in 1959 and the embankment completed in July 1963. Power generation began at the facility in 1964 and the entire complex was completed in 1966 at a total cost of $107 million. The hydroelectric plant presently generates 493,300 kilowatts of electricity and meets peak-hour demand for power within the Missouri River Basin.

Located near Fort Thompson, South Dakota, just sound of a major bend in the Missouri River (from which the dam takes its name), Big Bend Dam creates Lake Sharpe, named after South Dakota Governor Merrill Q. Sharpe. The lake entends for 80 miles (130 km) up the course of the Missouri River past Pierre to Oahe Dam, another major power-generating and flood control embankment. Lake Sharpe covers a total of 56,884 acres (230.20 km²) and drains an area just under 250,000 mi² (650,000 km²).