Morony Dam is a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

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 ...

located on the Missouri River in

Cascade County, Montana Cascade County (''cascade'' means ''waterfall'' in French) is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 84,414, making it the fifth-most populous county in Montana. Its county seat is Great Falls ...

. The dam is long and high, and generates 49

megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...

(MW) of power.

Overview

The dam is named after John G. Morony,Peterson, p. 74. a banker, director of the Amalgamated Copper Company (a forerunner of the

Anaconda Copper Company The Anaconda Copper Mining Company, known as the Amalgamated Copper Company between 1899 to 1915, was an American mining company headquartered in Butte, Montana. It was one of the largest trusts of the early 20th century and one of the largest mi ...

), and director of the

Montana Power Company The Montana Power Company (MPC) was an electric utility company based in Butte, Montana, which provided electricity to Montana consumers and industry from 1912 to 1997. History The Montana Power Company was founded in 1912 by John D. Ryan, the ...

. (Morony was largely responsible for constructing

Ryan Dam Ryan Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Missouri River, downstream from the city of Great Falls, Montana, Great Falls in the U.S. state of Montana. The dam is long and high; its reservoir is long and has a storage capacity of . It is a Run-of-th ...

.)"Great Dam Is Now Complete." ''Steam Shovel and Dredge.'' September 1919, p. 788.
/ref> Morony Dam was built by the Phoenix Utility Company.Aarstad, et al., p. 182. Montana Power commissioned the dam in order to provide additional power to the Anaconda Copper's

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

at nearby

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

. Construction began in 1928, and the dam was completed in 1930. Morony Dam has a wide spillway.PPL Montana, Form S-4, p. A-24. Nine

tainter gate The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow. It is named for Wisconsin structural engineer Jeremiah Burnham Tainter. A side view of a Tainter gate resembles a slice of pie with the c ...

s and one

sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

gate control the flow over water down the spillway. The headrace (or water inlet) for the powerhouse and the powerhouse itself are on the north side of the dam. The powerhouse, a portio of which is open to the elements, has two vertical

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The proces ...

s. The dam originally generated 48 megawatts of power.

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 the dam 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.

Big Eddy

Just below Morony Dam is a well-known hydrologic feature of the Missouri River known as the "Big Eddy." Belt Creek enters the Missouri River about below Morony Dam, past the rapids created by the dam. The large stream creates significant undertow and turbulence, which is not easily seen by boaters approaching from either side of the confluence of the two waterways. The

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

camped on the west bank of the Missouri River just below the Big Eddy on June 15, 1805, after the hydrologic feature held them back temporarily.''Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Comprehensive Plan for Management and Use.'' National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. January 1982.
Accessed 2011-09-30. The area is primarily reached by water, but the head of the Big Eddy Land Trail is nearby. The Big Eddy is well known by local boaters.Babcock, Michael. "'Big Eddy' Swallows Brand New Jet Boat." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' June 18, 2010. Between 1970 and 2010, several people drowned there after being caught unawares by the feature. In 2010, a man and his son were

jetboat A jetboat is a boat propelled by a jet of water ejected from the back of the craft. Unlike a powerboat or motorboat that uses an external propeller in the water below or behind the boat, a jetboat draws the water from under the boat through an ...

ing in the area and barely avoided drowning after the Big Eddy sucked their machine underwater.

Footnotes

Bibliography

*Aarstad, Rich; Arguimbau, Ellen; Baumler, Ellen; Porsild, Charlene L.; and Shovers, Brian. ''Montana Place Names From Alzada to Zortman.'' Helena, Mont.: Montana Historical Society Press, 2009. *Emmerling, Clifford L. "Montana Power Company's Dam Repair Program." ''Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE.'' Vol. 98, No. C02, Proc. Paper 9208. September 1972: 295-311. *Peterson, Don. ''Great Falls.'' Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2010. *PPL Montana, LLC. Form S-4. Registration Statement Under the Securities Act of 1933. EIN 54-1928759. November 21, 2000.

External links

Morony Dam on the PPL Montana Web page
*

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HAER) documentation, filed under Great Falls, Cascade County, MT: ** ** ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Morony Dam Hydroelectric power plants in Montana Dams in Montana Dams on the Missouri River NorthWestern Corporation dams Buildings and structures in Cascade County, Montana Run-of-the-river power stations Dams completed in 1930 Energy infrastructure completed in 1930 Historic American Engineering Record in Montana 1930 establishments in Montana