Hungry Horse Dam
The Hungry Horse Dam, owned and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation (Grand Coulee Power Office), is located on the South Fork of the Flathead River and plays an important role in providing water storage, flood control, hydroelectric power and recreation for the Pacific Northwest. Construction started in July 1948 and finished in July 1953. The dam was built at a cost of $102 million and was dedicated by President Truman on October 1, 1952.
Hungry Horse Dam contains almost 3.1 million cubic yards (2.4 million cubic meters) of concrete and is the 11th highest concrete dam in the United States. The emergency spillway is the highest glory hole structure in the world.
The four generators located in the powerplant at the toe of the dam are capable of producing a combined total of 428,000 kilowatts of electricity. The same water used at Hungry Horse to make electricity is then used by 19 other dams on the Columbia River System on its way to the Pacific Ocean and produces over 5 billion kilowatts per year.
The Hungry Horse Reservoir is 34 miles (59.5 kilometers) long and at full pool allows for almost 3.5 million acre feet of water storage. A driving tour on the roads around the reservoir is 115 miles long measured from US Route 2 and has only 15 miles of pavement; the rest is gravel. These roads provide access to the Flathead National Forest campgrounds, boat launches, and trails that lead to the Jewel Basin Hiking Area and to the Bob Marshall and Great Bear Wilderness Areas.
Dimensions:
564 ft. (171.9 m.) tall
2,115 ft. (736.4 m.) wide
39 ft. (13.6 m.) thick at top
330 ft. (114.8 m.) thick at base
From the Plaque