NASA satellite image of Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan Canada

The Gardiner Dam on the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

is the third largest

embankment 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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and one of the largest embankment dams in the world. Construction on Gardiner Dam and the smaller

Qu'Appelle River Dam 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 b ...

was started in 1959 and completed in 1967, creating

Lake Diefenbaker Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir and bifurcation lake in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. It was formed by the construction of Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across the South Saskatchewan and Qu'Appelle Rivers respectively. Constructio ...

upstream and diverting a considerable portion of the South Saskatchewan's flow into the

Qu'Appelle River The Qu'Appelle River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba that flows east from Lake Diefenbaker in south-western Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near t ...

. The dam rises 64 metres (209 feet) in height, is almost long and has a width of at its base with a volume of 65,000,000 cubic meters. The dam is owned and operated by the

Saskatchewan Water Security Agency The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (before 2013, the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority) is an arm's length organization responsible for the management of water resources to ensure safe drinking water sources and reliable water supplies for eco ...

. Two main gravity fed

aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

(canals) from the lake were built in 1967 as part of the ''South Saskatchewan River Project'' to supply water to downstream reservoirs for irrigation, drinking water, and industrial uses. The Westside Irrigation Project supplies water to the west side of the South Saskatchewan River and the Eastside Irrigation Project supplies water to the east side of the South Saskatchewan River. Notable reservoirs on the Eastside Irrigation Project include Broderick Reservoir,

Brightwater Reservoir Brightwater Creek is a river in south central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River in a region called the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, which extends throughout three Provinces and territories of C ...

Blackstrap Lake Blackstrap Lake is a man-made reservoir in central Saskatchewan, Canada, south of Saskatoon in the rural municipality of Dundurn No. 314, Saskatchewan, Dundurn No. 314. The lake was created as a reservoir in 1967, as part of the Saskatoon Sou ...

, Bradwell Reservoir, and Zelma Reservoir. On July 2, 2020, Premier

Scott Moe Scott Moe (born July 31, 1973) is a Canadian politician serving as the 15th and current premier of Saskatchewan since February 2, 2018. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the riding of Rosthern-Shellbrook, first elect ...

announced a 10-year, $4 billion irrigation expansion project that would increase the amount of land irrigated from Lake Diefenbaker to up to 500,000 acres. Phase one and two of the project will rehabilitate and expand the existing Westside Irrigation canal system. Phase three will see a system built south from the Qu'Appelle River Dam called the Qu’Appelle South Irrigation Project.

Danielson Provincial Park Danielson Provincial Park is located at the northern end of Lake Diefenbaker in the southern part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The park surrounds the Gardiner Dam, which was built in 1967 and is among the largest embankment dams ...

has property on both sides of the dam. On the north-east end is the

RV park A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true ...

and on the south-west end is a

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

, and guided tours of the

Coteau Creek Hydroelectric Station Coteau Creek Hydroelectric Station is a hydroelectric station owned by SaskPower, located near Danielson Provincial Park about south-west of Saskatoon, between the towns of Outlook and Elbow. The station is on the South Saskatchewan River and d ...

. The park was named after

Gustaf Herman Danielson Gustaf Herman Danielson (1883 – July 1971) was a Canadian provincial politician. He was born in Sweden, immigrated to the United States in 1901, and then to Saskatchewan in 1904. In Saskatchewan he homesteaded south of Elbow. He was ac ...

(former

Saskatchewan Liberal Party The Saskatchewan Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was the provincial affiliate of the Liberal Party of Canada until 2009. It was previously one of the two largest parties in the provin ...

MLA).

An integrated power generating plant,

SaskPower Saskatchewan Power Corporation, operating as SaskPower, is the principal electric utility in Saskatchewan, Canada. Established in 1929 by the provincial government, it serves more than 538,000 customers and manages over $11.8 billion in assets. Sa ...

, produces a net 186 MW of electricity from three 62 MW generators. Highway 44 crosses the river atop the dam. The dam is named for a former

Premier of Saskatchewan The premier of Saskatchewan is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The current premier of Saskatchewan is Scott Moe, who was sworn in as premier on February 2, 2018, after winning the 2018 Saskatch ...

and longtime federal cabinet minister,

James G. Gardiner James Garfield Gardiner (30 November 1883 – 12 January 1962) was a Canadian farmer, educator, and politician. He served as the fourth premier of Saskatchewan, and as a minister in the Canadian Cabinet. Political career Gardiner was first elec ...

References

External links

Danielson Provincial Park
* * {{Crossings navbox , structure =

Crossings Crossings may refer to: * ''Crossings'' (Buffy novel), a 2002 original novel based on the U.S. television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' * Crossings (game), a two-player abstract strategy board game invented by Robert Abbott * ''Crossings'' ...

, place =

, bridge = Gardiner Dam , bridge signs = , upstream =

Riverhurst Ferry The Riverhurst Ferry is a cable ferry in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The ferry carries Highway 42 across Lake Diefenbaker, linking Riverhurst on the east bank to Lucky Lake on the west bank. The ferry is operated by the Saskatchewa ...

, upstream signs = , downstream = Outlook Bridge , downstream signs = Coteau No. 255, Saskatchewan Dams in Saskatchewan Loreburn No. 254, Saskatchewan Dams completed in 1967 Dams in the Saskatchewan River basin South Saskatchewan River

See also

References

External links