Lake Sakakawea

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Lake Sakakawea near Garrison Dam

Lake Sakakawea from space, July 1996

Another view near Garrison Dam

Lake Sakakawea is a reservoir on the Missouri River. It is the third largest man-made lake in the United States (only Lake Mead and Lake Powell are larger).

It is located about 80 km (50 mi) from Bismarck, North Dakota; the distance by the river is about 120 km (75 mi). Lake Sakakawea marks the maximum southwest extent of glaciation during the ice age.

The reservoir was created with the completion of Garrison Dam in 1956, the second (and largest) of six main-stem dams on the Missouri River built and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control, hydroelectric power, navigation and irrigation. (The other five are Fort Peck, Oahe, Big Bend, Fort Randall and Gavins Point.)

The creation of the lake displaced members of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, forcing the creation of New Town.

Lake Sakakawea is also home to many summer camps. Camps such as Triangle Y Camp and Camp of the Cross bring together people of all ages to gaze upon the lake's beautiful view.

[edit] Lake Sakakawea State Park

Lake Sakakawea State Park is the western terminus of the 7,400 km (4,600 mi) North Country National Scenic Trail which is a National Millennium Trail that crosses the northern rim of the continental United States to Port Henry, New York. The park was originally developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as Garrison Lake State Park. In 1965 the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department assumed management of the park and renamed it Lake Sakakawea State Park in honor of the Shoshone/Hidatsa woman Sakakawea who guided the Lewis and Clark Expedition up the Missouri River from Fort Mandan in April 1805.

[edit] Statistics

Surface area: 368,000 acres (1,500 km²)
Length: 178 miles (286 km)
Shoreline: 1,300 miles (2,000 km)
Water storage: 23 million acre feet (28 km³)
Garrison dam construction: 1947 to 1953; $300 million; 9 million truckloads of dirt; as 80,000 yd³ (60,000 m³) of earth being moved daily.
Maximum water depth: 180 ft (55 m) at the face of the dam
Dam length: 12,000 ft (3.6 km)
Dam height: 210 ft (64 m)
Dam dedication: June 1953 by U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower.