Madison Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the
Madison River
The Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles (295 km) long, in Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana forms the Missouri River.
Th ...
in
Madison County, Montana
Madison County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,623. Its county seat is Virginia City. The county was founded in 1865; at the time it was part of the Montana Territory.
Geography
According t ...
, in the southwestern part of the state.
The timber-crib dam was constructed in 1906 as a replacement for a similar 1901 dam and powerhouse on the same site. The dam is high and long at its crest,
placed into the narrows of Bear Trap Canyon. As one of eight PPL Montana hydro projects, it has a generating capacity of in a run-of-the-river configuration.
Montana Power Company acquired the dam in 1912 as part of a merger,
PPL Corporation
PPL Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
History
Pennsylvania Power & Light was founded in 1 ...
purchased it in 1997 and sold it to
NorthWestern Corporation
NorthWestern Corporation owns NorthWestern Energy, a utility company that serves South Dakota, Nebraska, and Montana that is based in Sioux Falls. , the company serves approximately 718,000 customers. The company's corporate headquarters are loc ...
in 2014.
The reservoir it creates, Ennis Lake, is long and has a maximum storage capacity of .
The lake is relatively shallow and warms significantly during the summer, which tends to decrease fish populations. The lake supports recreational fishing for brown trout and rainbow trout, camping, boating, and white-water rafting in Bear Trap Canyon downstream (north) of the dam.
References
External links
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Dams in Montana
Reservoirs in Montana
NorthWestern Corporation dams
Buildings and structures in Madison County, Montana
Dams completed in 1906
Historic American Engineering Record in Montana
Landforms of Madison County, Montana
1906 establishments in Montana