The John Day Dam is a concrete gravity

run-of-the-river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amou ...

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 ...

spanning the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

in the northwestern United States. The dam features a

navigation lock A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water lev ...

plus

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as movemen ...

s on both sides. The John Day Lock has the highest lift (at ) of any U.S. lock. 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 ...

impounded by the dam is

Lake Umatilla Lake Umatilla is a long reservoir on the Columbia River in the United States, between the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. It was created in 1971 with the construction of John Day Dam, and stretches upstream to the McNary Dam. It lies in p ...

, and it runs up the river channel to the foot of the McNary Dam. John Day Dam is part of the

Columbia River Basin The Columbia River drainage basin is the drainage basin of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It covers . In common usage, the term often refers to a smaller area, generally the portion of the drainage basin th ...

system of dams.

Location

John Day Dam is located east of the city of

The Dalles, Oregon The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...

, and just below the mouth of the

John Day River The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States. It is known as the Mah-Hah River by the Cayuse people, the original inhabitants of the region. Undammed along its entire ...

. The closest town on the

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

side is Goldendale, north. The closest town on the Oregon side is

Rufus, Oregon Rufus is a city in Sherman County, Oregon, United States. The population was 249 at the 2010 census. The city was named for an early settler, Rufus Carrol Wallis. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area ...

. Its crest elevation is approximately above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. It joins

Sherman County, Oregon Sherman County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,870, making it the second-least populous county in Oregon after nearby Wheeler. The county seat is Moro, and the largest city is ...

with

Klickitat County, Washington Klickitat County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,735. The county seat and largest city is Goldendale. The county is named after the Klickitat tribe. History Klickitat County ...

, upriver from the mouth of the Columbia near

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

History

Construction of the dam began in 1958 and was completed in 1971,https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p16021coll11/id/426/download making it the newest dam on the lower Columbia, at a total cost of US$511 million. The pool was filled in 1968 and a dedication ceremony was held on September 28, 1968. John Day Dam was built and is operated by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. The condemnation of land upstream of the dam led to the Supreme Court case ''United States v. Rands'', a well-known case regarding the constitutional doctrine of

navigable servitude Navigable servitude is a legal doctrine, doctrine in United States constitutional law that gives the federal government of the United States, federal government the right to regulate navigable waterways as an extension of the Commerce Clause in A ...

. The dam's power generation capacity is 2,480,000 kW (overload capacity). The dam underwent a major repair to the upper lock gate in 2010, as documented in an episode of the National Geographic Channel program ''

World's Toughest Fixes ''World's Toughest Fixes'' is an American reality series that premiered on the National Geographic Channel on September 28, 2008. It featured Sean Riley participating in various "tough fixes"; repairs and renovations done on equipment that is very ...

''.

Specifications

* Altitude: 266 feet (81 m) above sea level * Height: 183 feet (56 m) * Length: 7,365 feet (2,327 m) * Navigation lock: ** Single-lift ** 86 feet (26 m) wide ** 675 feet (206 m) long * Powerhouse ** Sixteen 135,000 kW units ** Total capacity: 2,160 MW ** Overload capacity: 2,485 MW * Spillway ** Gates: 20 ** Length: 1,228 feet (374 m)

Images

Sources

* *

References

External links

John Day Dam US Army Corps Engineers
{{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 = John Day Dam , bridge signs = , upstream =

Umatilla Bridge The Umatilla Bridge is the collective name for a pair of bridges in the northwest United States, carrying Interstate 82/U.S. Route 395 (I-82/US 395) across the Columbia River at the Washington–Oregon border. The older bridge opened in Jul ...

, upstream signs = , downstream =

Sam Hill Memorial Bridge The Sam Hill Memorial Bridge, also known as the Biggs Rapids Bridge, is a steel truss bridge in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States that carries U.S. Route 97, U.S. Route 97 (US 97) across the Columbia River between ...

, downstream signs = Dams on the Columbia River Dams in Oregon Dams in Washington (state) Hydroelectric power plants in Washington (state) Hydroelectric power plants in Oregon Buildings and structures in Sherman County, Oregon Buildings and structures in Klickitat County, Washington Run-of-the-river power stations United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1971 Energy infrastructure completed in 1971 1971 establishments in Oregon Gravity dams 1971 establishments in Washington (state) Dams with fish ladders