The Qu'appelle River Dam is the smaller of two

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 ...

s: which created

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. Construc ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in 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 the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

, Canada. The larger dam is Gardiner Dam, the biggest

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 tota ...

and one of the biggest in the world. Construction of both dams began in the 1959 and was completed in 1967. The dam keeps the flow of water in 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 ...

relatively constant, as the Qu'Appelle River formerly dried up in many places every summer at the conclusion of the spring

freshet The term ''freshet'' is most commonly used to describe a spring thaw resulting from snow and ice melt in rivers located in upper North America. A spring freshet can sometimes last several weeks on large river systems, resulting in significant i ...

from the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, which feeds 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 ...

. This along with Buffalo Pound Dam at

Buffalo Pound Lake Buffalo Pound Lake is a eutrophic prairie lake in Saskatchewan, Canada, formed from glaciation about 10,000 years ago, on the Qu'Appelle River approximately north of Moose Jaw and north-east of Tuxford, Saskatchewan, Tuxford. The lake gets ...

, which supplies

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

to Regina,

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...

and the Mosaic

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

Belle Plaine Belle Plaine may refer to a place in North America: United States * Belle Plaine, Iowa * Belle Plaine, Kansas * Belle Plaine, Minnesota * Belle Plaine Township, Minnesota * Belle Plaine (Madison County, Virginia), a historic farm property * B ...

, keeps the lake from fluctuating excessively. The

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

crosses the river via the top of the dam, and the dam was designed with this type of loading in mind. The dam is 3100 metres long and 27 metres high. Douglas Provincial Park (named after former premier of Saskatchewan

Tommy Douglas Thomas Clement Douglas (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist min ...

) extends from the dam to Mistusinne. Highway 19 crosses the Qu'Appelle Valley about 1 km southeast of the dam, and provides access to a vantage point of the dam Lake Diefenbaker and the Qu'Appelle Valley. NASA satellite image of Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan Canada

NASA satellite image of Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan Canada

During the time of glaciation on North America, the retreating glacier would block the flow north and would force the water flow down the Qu'Appelle River. When the glaciers retreated further, water would then flow north. Before the Gardiner Dam was built, spring flows were high enough to allow water down the Qu'Appelle but would dry up later in the fall. Now as the Qu'Appelle Dam always retains the water of Lake Diefenbaker, water is released into the Qu'Appelle River in order to maintain flows throughout the entire year. This serves the farmers along the Qu'Appelle who use it for irrigation and watering their livestock.

References

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External links

Douglas Provincial Park
Dams in Saskatchewan Maple Bush No. 224, Saskatchewan Dams completed in 1967 1967 establishments in Saskatchewan

See also

References

External links