Oahe Dam

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Lake Oahe (Reservoir), between Cannon Ball, North Dakota, and Pollock, South Dakota, as seen from space, October 1985. South is at the top of the photo.

The Oahe Dam is a large man-made dam along the Missouri River, just north of Pierre, South Dakota in the United States. It creates Lake Oahe, the 4th largest man-made reservoir in the United States, which stretches 231 miles (372 km) up the course of the Missouri to Bismarck, North Dakota. The dam's powerplant provides electricity for much of northcentral United States. It is named for the Oahe Indian Mission established among the Lakota Sioux in 1874.

1 History
2 Statistics
3 Tours
4 Native American Displacenment
5 External links
6 References
7 See also

[edit] History

In September and October of 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through what is now Lake Oahe while exploring the Missouri River.

Oahe Dam was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944, and construction by the United States Army Corps of Engineers began in 1948. It began generating power in 1962, and was officially dedicated by President John F. Kennedy on August 17 of that year.

[edit] Statistics

Dam height: 245 feet (75 m)
Dam volume of earth fill: 92,000,000 cubic yards
Dam volume of concrete: 1,122,000 cubic yards
Spillway width: 456 feet
Spillway crest elevation: 1,596.5 feet
Lake maximum depth: 205 ft
Water speed through dam: 11 mph
Number of turbines: 7
Power generated per turbine: 112,290 kW
reservoir storage capacity: 2.35 million acre-feet (29 km³).
States served with electricity: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Montana
Number of recreation areas around lake: 51
Miles of shoreline: 2,250 (more than California)

[edit] Tours

Tours of the powerplant are given daily Memorial Day through Labor Day. Tours start at the Visitor Center, with check in at 9:30 a.m, 1:00 p.m, and 3:30 p.m. Plan an hour and a half per tour, and bring a photo ID. Groups of 10 or more should call to schedule a tour. Tours in the off-season by special appointment only. For large groups and off-season tours, please call (605) 224-5862.

[edit] Native American Displacenment

Much of the land (over 160,000 acres) of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation and the Standing Rock Reservation was destroyed in the construction of this dam. Over and above the acreage loss, most of the reservations' prime agriculture land was included in the loss. The loss of this land had a dramatic effect on the Indians who lived on the reservations. One visitor to the reservations later asked why there were so few older Indians on the reservations, and was told that "the old people had died of heartache" after the construction of the dam and the loss of the reservations' land.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] External links

Oahe Dam and Lake Oahe, A Sightseer's Guide to Engineering page
Boat ramp conditions
Satellite image of Oahe Dam and Pierre, South Dakota, in Google Maps

[edit] References

Lawson, Michael L. Dammed Indians : the Pick-Sloan Plan and the Missouri River Sioux, 1944-1980. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1982. ISBN 0-8061-2672-8
Lazarus, Edward. Black Hills, White Justice : The Sioux Nation Versus the United States, 1775 to the Present. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. ISBN 0-06-016557-X.
Cornell University site