The Revelstoke Dam, also known as Revelstoke Canyon Dam, is a
hydroelectric 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 ...
(combined
earthfill dam and
gravity dam) spanning the
Columbia River, north of
Revelstoke, British Columbia
Revelstoke () is a city in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, with a census population of 8,275 in 2021. Revelstoke is located east of Vancouver, and west of Calgary, Alberta. The city is situated on the banks of the Columbia River just sout ...
, Canada. The powerhouse was completed in 1984 and has an installed capacity of 2480
MW.
Four generating units were installed initially, with one additional unit (#5) having come online in 2011. 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 ...
behind the dam is named
Lake Revelstoke
Lake Revelstoke or Revelstoke Lake or Revelstoke Lake Reservoir is an artificial lake on the Columbia River, north of the town of Revelstoke, British Columbia and south of Mica Creek. This lake is the reservoir formed by the Revelstoke Dam, w ...
. The dam is operated by
BC Hydro
The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the exce ...
.
History
Construction of Revelstoke Dam started in 1978, and was completed in 1983.
Areas inundated by the dam include the
Dalles des Morts Dalles des Morts, also known as Death Rapids in English, was a famously violent stretch of the Columbia River upstream from Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada, now submerged beneath the waters of the Lake Revelstoke Reservoir. Despite the name, ...
or "Death Rapids", which was the stretch of canyon just above the dam's location, and various small localities along the pre-inundation route of the
Big Bend Highway, which was the original route of the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...
until the building of its
Rogers Pass section. Just below the dam was the location of
La Porte, one of the boomtowns of the
Big Bend Gold Rush The Big Bend Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Big Bend Country of the Colony of British Columbia (now a Canadian province) in the mid-1860s.
History Discovery & early miners
In 1861, the gold commissioner at Rock Creek reported a First Nations ...
and the head of river navigation via the
Arrow Lakes
The Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. The lakes are situated between the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashee Mountains to the west. Bea ...
and
Columbia River from
Marcus, Washington
Marcus is a town in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The population was 117 at the 2000 census and 183 at the 2010 census, a 56.4% increase over the 2000 census.
History
Marcus was named for Marcus Oppenheimer who settled in the ar ...
.
Revelstoke Dam Visitor Centre
The Revelstoke Dam Visitor Centre is located north of
Revelstoke and is open seasonally. The centre features interactive exhibits, activities about the dam and hydroelectricity and a
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
gallery opened in 2009, with exhibits about the art, history and culture of the
Secwepemc (Shuswap),
Okanagan
The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is par ...
and
Ktunaxa
The Kutenai ( ), also known as the Ktunaxa ( ; ), Ksanka ( ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, northern ...
peoples.
Sinixt
The Sinixt"Sinixt Nation…" (also known as the Sin-Aikst or Sin Aikst,Reyes 2002, ''passim.'' "Senjextee", "Arrow Lakes Band", or — less commonly in recent decades — simply as "The Lakes") are a First Nations People. The Sinixt are ...
are not included in the exhibit, but also consider the Revelstoke Dam to fall within their territory. There is also a theatre, gift shop, and outdoor walkway across the top of the Powerhouse.
Expansion
BC Hydro completed an expansion to add a fifth unit. The unit went online in 2011 and added 500
MW capacity, bringing the total generating capacity of the dam to around 2480 MW. In 2009, the plant generated 6,361
GWh of electricity.
By 2018, after the expansion, then plant generated 7,817
GWh of electricity. The dam was built to accommodate a sixth unit, also sized around 500 MW; a contingency plan to build the sixth unit is possible but not scheduled as of December 2018.
See also
![Pacific_Northwest_River_System](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Pacific_Northwest_River_System.png)
*
List of largest power stations in Canada
This article lists the largest electrical generating stations in Canada in terms of current installed electrical capacity. Non-renewable power stations are those that run on coal, fuel oils, nuclear, natural gas, oil shale and peat, while renew ...
*
List of generating stations in British Columbia
This is a list of electrical generating stations in British Columbia, Canada.
Hydroelectric
List of most of the hydroelectric generating stations in British Columbia.
Hydroelectric stations owned by BC Hydro
A list of all grid-tie ...
*
List of dams in the Columbia River watershed
There are more than 60 dams in the Columbia River watershed in the United States and Canada. Tributaries of the Columbia River and their dammed tributaries, as well as the main stem itself, each have their own list below. The dams are listed i ...
*
Hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River
There are more than 60 dams in the Columbia River watershed in the United States and Canada. Tributaries of the Columbia River and their dammed tributaries, as well as the main stem itself, each have their own list below. The dams are listed in ...
*
Mica Dam
Mica Dam is a hydroelectric embankment dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. It was built as one of three Canadian projects under the terms of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty and is operate ...
*
Keenleyside Dam
Hugh Keenleyside Dam (formerly known as the High Arrow Dam) is a flood control dam spanning the Columbia River, 12 km (6.5 miles) upstream of the city of Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada.
Dam
The dam is at the outflow of what was the ...
References
External links
BC Hydro Revelstoke Dam Visitor Centre page
{{Columbia River dams, dam=Revelstoke Dam, downriver=
Keenleyside Dam
Hugh Keenleyside Dam (formerly known as the High Arrow Dam) is a flood control dam spanning the Columbia River, 12 km (6.5 miles) upstream of the city of Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada.
Dam
The dam is at the outflow of what was the ...
, upriver=
Mica Dam
Mica Dam is a hydroelectric embankment dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. It was built as one of three Canadian projects under the terms of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty and is operate ...
Dams on the Columbia River
Dams in British Columbia
Hydroelectric power stations in British Columbia
Museums in British Columbia
Revelstoke, British Columbia
Dams completed in 1984
Gravity dams
1984 establishments in British Columbia
BC Hydro
Publicly owned dams in Canada