Lower Salmon Falls Dam

Lower Salmon Falls Dam
Lower Salmon Falls Dam is located in Idaho
Lower Salmon Falls Dam
Location of Lower Salmon Falls Dam in Idaho
LocationTwin Falls County / Gooding counties, Idaho
Coordinates42°50′30″N 114°54′13″W / 42.841586°N 114.903696°W / 42.841586; -114.903696
Opening date1910
Operator(s)Idaho Power Company[1]
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsSnake River
Height38 feet (12 m)[1]
Length983 feet [1]
Reservoir
Total capacity10,900 acre-feet (13,400,000 m3)[1]
Surface area750 acres (1.03 km²)[1]
Power Station
Commission date1910, 1949
Turbines4
Installed capacity60 MW

Lower Salmon Falls Dam is a concrete gravity-type hydroelectric dam on the Lower Salmon Falls of the Snake River, in the U.S. state of Idaho. The dam is located 5 miles downstream from Upper Salmon Falls, between Gooding County and Twin Falls County, Idaho.[2]

History

The Salmon Falls includes a series of falls on the Snake River. The Lower Salmon Falls are approximately 5 miles downstream from Upper Salmon Falls, in between Gooding County and Twin Falls County, Idaho.[3][4] Half of the Lower Falls have been inundated by the Lower Salmon Falls Dam.[5][6][7]

The Lower Salmon Falls Dam was originally built in 1910 by the Greater Shoshone and Twin Falls Water Power Company. Idaho Power Company acquired the plant in 1916 and rebuilt it in 1949. It's located at river mile 573.0. Nearby cities are Twin Falls, Mountain Home, and Hailey, Idaho.

The newer dam is 983 feet long, including a 180-foot, 38-foot-high overflow dam and has a powerhouse containing four turbine generator units with a capacity of 60 MW. Its reservoir is 6.6 miles long, with a 750-acre surface area, with a storage capacity of 10,900 acre-feet. It includes a 6-foot-wide, 510-foot-long fish ladder.[1]

Along with the Upper Salmon Falls Dam and Bliss Dam is part of Idaho Power Company's Mid-Snake Projects.[8] The Mid-Snake Projects in total have a nameplate capacity of 169.5 MW.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Hydropower Reform Coalition & River Management Society (April 2013). "Hydropower Project Summary - Mid-Snake River, Idaho" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-01-05.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lower Salmon Falls
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lower Salmon Falls
  4. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Salmon Falls
  5. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lower Salmon Falls Dam
  6. ^ Waterfalls in Idaho from www.ultimateidaho.com accessed on September 26, 2013
  7. ^ Lower Salmon Falls from worldwaterfalldatabase.com accessed on September 26, 2013
  8. ^ a b Mid-Snake Projects Archived 2011-10-01 at the Wayback Machine, Idaho Power
  • Lower Salmon Falls Dam from idahoguideservice.com accessed September 22, 2015. View of overflow dam releasing water over the remnant of the Lower Salmon Falls.


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