Big Bend Dam is a major

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

rolled-earth dam on the Missouri River in Central

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, creating

Lake Sharpe Lake Sharpe is a large reservoir impounded by Big Bend Dam on the Missouri River in central South Dakota, United States. The lake has an area of and a maximum depth of . Lake Sharpe is approximately long, with a shoreline of . Lake Sharpe is th ...

. The dam was constructed by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

as part of the Pick-Sloan Plan for Missouri watershed development authorized by the

Flood Control Act of 1944 The Pick-Sloan Flood Control Act of 1944 (P.L. 78–534), enacted in the 2nd session of the 78th Congress, is U.S. legislation that authorized the construction of numerous dams and modifications to previously existing dams, as well as levees acros ...

. Construction began in 1959 and the embankment was 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 generates 493,300 kilowatts of electricity at maximum capacity, with an annual production of 969 million kilowatt hours, and meets peak-hour demand for power within the

Missouri River Basin The Missouri River Valley outlines the journey of the Missouri River from its headwaters where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers flow together in Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in the State of Missouri. At long th ...

. Located near Fort Thompson, South Dakota, just south of the Big Bend of the Missouri River, a large

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

, Big Bend Dam creates

, named after

Governor Merrill Q. Sharpe. The lake extends for up the course of the Missouri River passing through

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

, the State Capitol, to

Oahe Dam The Oahe Dam is a large earthen dam on the Missouri River, just north of Pierre, South Dakota, United States. The dam creates Lake Oahe, the fourth-largest man-made reservoir in the United States. The reservoir stretches up the course of the Mi ...

, another major power-generating and flood control dam. Lake Sharpe covers a total of and drains an area just under .

South Dakota Highway 47 South Dakota Highway 47 (SD 47) is a state route that runs north to south across the central portion of South Dakota. It begins at an unnumbered highway at the North Dakota border north of Eureka, and ends at the Nebraska border, where it becomes ...

crosses over the dam, connecting Lyman and Buffalo Counties. Big Bend Dam is located approximately north of

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

, and approximately southeast of

. The next dam upstream is

, near

, and the next dam downstream is

Fort Randall Dam Fort Randall Dam is a earthen dam which spans the Missouri River and impounds Lake Francis Case, the 11th-largest reservoir in the U.S. The dam joins Gregory and Charles Mix counties, South Dakota a distance of 880 river miles (1,416 km) u ...

, near Pickstown.

Native American tribes

The construction of the dam resulted in the dislocation of people on the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Reservations. The flooding of the land for the

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

also resulted in the loss of limited plant life resources used by them for food and medicine. A monument at Big Bend Dam dedicated in 2002, the Spirit of the Circle Monument, honors the more than 1,300 people who died over a three-year period in the 1860s at the

Crow Creek Reservation The Crow Creek Indian Reservation ( dak, Khąǧí wakpá okášpe, '' lkt, Kȟaŋğí Wakpá Oyáŋke''), home to Crow Creek Sioux Tribe ( dak, Khąǧí wakpá oyáte) is located in parts of Buffalo County, South Dakota, Buffalo, Hughes County, ...

near the present site of the dam.

2011 Missouri River flood

For the first time in the dam's history, the

US Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

opened the dam's spillway gates on the morning of June 3, 2011. In response to the 2011 Missouri River Floods, the dam was releasing , which greatly exceeded its previous record release of set in 1997.

References

External links

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Big Bend Dam

Daily Reservoir Levels and Water Releases - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
{{Authority control Dams in South Dakota Dams on the Missouri River Hydroelectric power plants in South Dakota Buildings and structures in Buffalo County, South Dakota Buildings and structures in Lyman County, South Dakota United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Energy infrastructure completed in 1964 Dams completed in 1966 Earth-filled dams

Native American tribes

2011 Missouri River flood

See also

References

External links