Swan Falls Dam is a concrete gravity type hydroelectric dam in the western United States, on the Snake River in southwestern Idaho, United States. At the dam, the river is the border of Ada and Owyhee counties; it is approximately five miles (8 km) east of Murphy, the seat of Owyhee County.
| Swan Falls Dam | |
|---|---|
Location in the United States Location in Idaho | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Ada / Owyhee counties, Idaho |
| Coordinates | 43°14′36″N 116°22′46″W / 43.24333°N 116.37944°W |
| Opening date | 1901[1] |
| Operator(s) | Idaho Power Company |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Snake River |
| Height | 107 feet (33 m)[2] |
| Length | 1,150 feet (350 m)[2] |
| Reservoir | |
| Total capacity | 7,425 acre-feet (9,159,000 m3)[2] |
| Catchment area | 41,900 square miles (108,500 km2)[2] |
| Surface area | 1,525 acres (6.17 km2)[2] |
Swan Falls Dam and Power Plant | |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1900 |
| Architect | Wiley, A.J. |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000667[3] |
| Added to NRHP | July 06, 1976 |
Description
editBuilt 123 years ago in 1901 to generate power, Swan Falls is the oldest hydroelectric dam on the Snake River. In the 1990s, the original power plant was replaced.[1] The dam was built with fish passage facilities, but they proved to be very poor in performance. For this reason, among others, the C. J. Strike Dam, built upriver from Swan Falls in the early 1950s, was not equipped with fish passage facilities. Thus, the two dams combined to become the first artificial barrier to anadromous fish migration up the Snake River. Today, Hells Canyon Dam (1967) is the first total barrier to fish migration on the Snake.[4]
Swan Falls Dam and its reservoir lie within the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area;[1] the dam and power plant were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
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1904
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Swan Falls Dam at sunrise
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Swan Falls Dam, Idaho Power
- ^ a b c d e Swan Falls Dam, NPDP Dam Directory
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Middle Snake Subbasin Plan, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
Further reading
editExternal links
edit- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation, filed under Snake River, Kuna, Owyhee County, ID:
- HAER No. ID-20, "Swan Falls Dam", 110 photos, 72 data pages, 12 photo caption pages
- HAER No. ID-20-A, "Swan Falls Dam, Blacksmith Shop & Annex", 15 photos, 12 photo caption pages
- HAER No. ID-20-B, "Swan Falls Dam, Restroom", 1 photo, 1 photo caption page
- HAER No. ID-20-C, "Swan Falls Dam, Material Shed", 3 photos, 1 photo caption page
- HAER No. ID-20-D, "Swan Falls Dam, Storage Shed A", 2 photos, 1 photo caption page
- HAER No. ID-20-E, "Swan Falls Dam, Raw Stock Storage Crib", 1 photo, 1 photo caption page
- HAER No. ID-20-F, "Swan Falls Dam, Carpenter Shop", 4 photos, 1 photo caption page
- HAER No. ID-20-G, "Swan Falls Dam, Wood Shop", 4 photos, 1 photo caption page
- HAER No. ID-20-H, "Swan Falls Dam, Storage Shed B", 2 photos, 1 photo caption page
- HAER No. ID-20-I, "Swan Falls Dam, Garage", 2 photos, 1 photo caption page
- HAER No. ID-20-J, "Swan Falls Dam, House", 2 photos, 1 photo caption page
- HAER No. ID-20-K, "Swan Falls Dam, A-Frame Crane Gantry", 2 photos, 1 photo caption page
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