Chief Joseph Dam - Bridgeport, Douglas and Okanogan counties, WA, USA
Posted by: T0SHEA
N 47° 59.723 W 119° 38.491
11T E 302944 N 5319163
This is Washington's and the USA's second largest hydroelectric dam.
Waymark Code: WMFX2Y
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 12/10/2012
Views: 3
This is truly a LARGE SCALE hydro project, consisting of a total of 27 generators. Surprisingly, though Chief Joseph is a dam, the hydro facility is run-of-the-river, as the reservoir behind the dam is insufficient to supply the requisite volume of water.
"Chief Joseph Dam is in Douglas and Okanogan counties, 1.5 miles upstream from Bridgeport, WA and 545 miles upstream from the mouth of the Columbia River at Astoria, Oregon. Its electricity is marketed by the Bonneville Power Administration. Construction began in 1949, with the main dam and intake structure completed in 1955. Installation of the initial generating units was completed in 1958. Eleven additional turbines were installed between 1973 and 1979, and the dam and lake were raised 10 ft, boosting the capacity to 2.620 GW (gigawatts), making Chief Joseph Dam the second largest hydroelectric power producer in the United States. It now has 27 main generators in the powerhouse.
The reservoir behind the dam is named Rufus Woods Lake, and runs 51 mi up the river channel. Bridgeport State Park, on the lake, is adjacent to the dam."
Source: Wikipedia