Cottonwood Springs Dam is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

Fall River County, South Dakota Fall River County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 6,973. Its county seat is Hot Springs, South Dakota, Hot Springs. The county was founded in 1883. It ...

in the southwestern part of the state, south of the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...

. The

earthen dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

was constructed in 1969 by the

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

with a height of 123 feet and a length at its crest of 1190 feet. It impounds Cottonwood Springs Creek for area

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

. The reservoir it creates, Cottonwood Springs Lake, has a water surface of 36 acres and has a maximum capacity of 11,635

acre-feet The acre-foot is a non- SI unit of volume equal to about commonly used in the United States in reference to large-scale water resources, such as reservoirs, aqueducts, canals, sewer flow capacity, irrigation water, and river flows. An acre-f ...

. Recreation is year-round and includes camping, hiking, and fishing. Recreation is managed by the Corps of Engineers. The dam and lake is approximately 6 miles west of

Hot Springs, South Dakota Hot Springs (Lakota: ''mni kȟáta''; "hot water") is a city in and county seat of Fall River County, South Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 3,395. In addition, neighboring Oglala Lakota County contracts the ...

Cold Brook Dam Cold Brook Dam is an earthen dam located near Hot Springs, South Dakota in Fall River County in the southwestern part of the state, in the southern Black Hills. The earthen dam was constructed in 1953 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers ...

, another Corps of Engineers dam is located about 5 miles northeast. The dam and reservoir are located within the

Cheyenne River The Cheyenne River ( lkt, Wakpá Wašté; "Good River"), also written ''Chyone'', referring to the Cheyenne people who once lived there, is a tributary of the Missouri River in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is approximately 2 ...

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

External links

Cottonwood Springs Lake RecreationU.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cottonwood Springs Dam

References

Dams in South Dakota Reservoirs in South Dakota United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Buildings and structures in Fall River County, South Dakota Dams completed in 1969 Bodies of water of Fall River County, South Dakota {{SouthDakota-struct-stub

See also

External links

References