Qu'Appelle River Dam
| Qu'Appelle River Dam | |
|---|---|
| Location | Maple Bush No. 224, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Coordinates | 50°58′57″N 106°25′57″W / 50.98250°N 106.43250°WCoordinates: 50°58′57″N 106°25′57″W / 50.98250°N 106.43250°W |
| Opening date | 1967 |
| Owner(s) | Saskatchewan Watershed Authority |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment dam |
| Length | 3,100 metres (10,200 ft) |
| Height | 27 metres (89 ft) |
| Spillway capacity | 1,400 cubic metres (49,000 cu ft) per second |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Diefenbaker |
| Catchment area | 126,000 square kilometres (49,000 sq mi) |
| [1] | |
The Qu'appelle River Dam is the smaller of two embankment dams: which created Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan, Canada. The larger dam is Gardiner Dam, the biggest embankment dam in Canada and one of the biggest in the world. Construction of both dams began in the 1959 and was completed in 1967. The dam keeps the flow of water in the Qu'Appelle River relatively constant, as the Qu'Appelle river used to dry up in many places every summer when the snow that fills in the South Saskatchewan River from the Rocky Mountains was done melting. This along with Buffalo Pound Dam at Buffalo Pound Lake: which supplies water to Regina, Moose Jaw and the Kalium Chemicals Potash Mine at Belle Plaine keeps the lake from fluctuating too much. The Canadian Pacific Railway crosses the river atop of the dam. The dam is 3100 metres long and 27 metres high. Douglas Provincial Park (named after former premier of Saskatchewan Tommy Douglas) extends from the dam to Mistusinne.
Highway 19 crosses the Qu'Appelle Valley about 1 km southeast of the dam, and provides access to a vantage point of the dam Lake Diefenbaker and the Qu'Appelle Valley.
See also
References
- ↑ "Fact Sheet" (PDF). Saskatchewan Watershed Authority. Retrieved 2011-06-24.