Salmon Falls Dam is a dam constructed across

Salmon Falls Creek Salmon Falls Creek is a tributary of the Snake River, flowing from northern Nevada into Idaho in the United States. Formed in high mountains at the northern edge of the Great Basin, Salmon Falls Creek flows northwards ,U.S. Geological Survey. ...

Twin Falls County Twin Falls County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 Census, the county had a population of 90,046, making it the fifth-most populous county in Idaho. The county seat and largest city is Twin Falls ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, in the United States. Located about southwest of Twin Falls, the masonry arch-gravity dam is high and long, impounding up to of water in Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir. When full, the reservoir extends for upstream, encompassing . The dam and reservoir control runoff from a drainage basin of . The dam was built in 1910 to provide irrigation water storage, and is owned and operated by the Salmon River Canal Company. A secondary purpose is flood control: the dam has spilled floodwaters twice, in 1984 and 2017. Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir is also a popular recreational lake, and is considered one of the best fisheries in southern Idaho. The dam was the third-largest dam in the world at the time of its construction. It was part of a major reclamation effort which partly failed due less water being available than planned, partly due to unexpected leakage of water through the lava rock used in the dam's construction. With The

Milner Dam Milner Dam is a rockfill dam near Burley in south central Idaho. It impounds the Snake River in a reservoir named Milner Lake. The dam spans the river across two islands, with three embankments. Milner Dam was authorized for construction as a ...

(1904) was more successful. The Salmon Falls Tract, the associated reclamation project, was originally termed the Salmon River Tract, and the dam was named the Salmon Dam. That naming "was chosen over Salmon Falls because the project promoters believed it had more appeal, although the dam’s name was changed back to Salmon Falls".

Historic site

The Salmon Falls Dam was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2009. The listing included a

contributing building In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

and six

contributing structures In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

in addition to the dam itself, on . The dam's engineer was Andrew J. Wiley. The historic listing includes the dam, one building, and seven other structures.

Gallery

File:2013-07-07 16 29 46 Salmon Falls Creek Dam in Idaho viewed from the west.jpg, Salmon Falls Creek Dam viewed from the west File:2013-07-07 16 32 36 Salmon Falls Creek Dam in Idaho viewed from the east.jpg, Salmon Falls Creek Dam viewed from the east File:2013-07-07 16 32 48 View south up the Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir from the east end of the Salmon Falls Creek Dam in Idaho.jpg, View south up the Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir from the east end of the Salmon Falls Creek Dam

References

External links

Planning for Paradise: Idaho's Salmon Falls Dam
(p. 4) Dams in Idaho Dams in the Columbia Basin United States local public utility dams Reservoirs in Idaho Buildings and structures in Twin Falls County, Idaho Dams completed in 1910 Arch-gravity dams Lakes of Twin Falls County, Idaho National Register of Historic Places in Twin Falls County, Idaho Buildings and structures completed in 1908 {{Idaho-stub

Historic site

Gallery

See also

References

External links