Denison Dam, also known as Lake Texoma Dam, is a

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, aqua ...

located on the Red River between

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

that impounds

Lake Texoma Lake Texoma is one of the largest reservoirs in the United States, the 12th-largest US Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) lake, and the largest in USACE Tulsa District. Lake Texoma is formed by Denison Dam on the Red River in Bryan County, Oklah ...

. The purpose of the dam is flood control, water supply, hydroelectric power production, river regulation,

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

and recreation. It was also designated by the

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

as a

National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United Stat ...

in 1993.

History

Completed in 1943 primarily as a flood control project, it was at the time the "largest rolled-earth fill dam in the world". Only five times has the lake reached the dam's spillway at a height of above sea level: 1957, 1990, 2007, and twice in 2015. It takes its name from Denison, Texas, just downriver from the dam face.

Denison Dam contains a total of 18.8 million cubic yards (14,000,000 m³) of rolled-earth fill. It produces roughly 250,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year, while Lake Texoma provides nearly of water storage for local communities under five permanent contracts.

In addition to two federally managed wildlife-refuge areas, Denison Dam has made possible 47 recreational areas managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, two state parks -- one in Oklahoma and one in Texas -- as well as of open public land used for hunting.

..General
Lucius D. Clay Lucius Dubignon Clay (23 April 1898 – 16 April 1978) was a senior officer of the United States Army who was known for his administration of occupied Germany after World War II. He served as the deputy to General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhow ...
was the principal manager of the project.

Oklahoma State Highway 91 State Highway 91 (abbreviated SH-91 or OK-91) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It runs for , entirely within Bryan County. SH-91 has no lettered spur routes. Route description SH-91 begins at Denison Dam at Lake Texoma, conne ...

and, to a lesser extent,

Texas State Highway 91 State Highway 91 (SH 91) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that runs from Sherman through Denison to the Oklahoma state line at Denison Dam at Lake Texoma (where it connects with Oklahoma State Highway 91) . This route was desi ...

cross over the dam. German prisoners of war from Rommel's Afrika Korps were used in the construction of the Denison Dam and Lake Texoma during World War II. They performed non-war-related work such as clearing trees, lining drainage ditches, and building a bathroom facility. They also helped clear more than 7,000 acres for the lake. 4 POWs were housed in camps in Tishomingo and Powell, Oklahom

The government paid $1.50 per day per prisoner, and the POWs received 80 cents in canteen coupons. The difference went to the federal treasury to pay for the POW program.

References

External links

Army Corp on floodstage
Retrieved July 6, 2007
ASCE Denison Dam landmark page
Retrieved January 26, 2022 {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Bryan County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Grayson County, Texas Dams in Oklahoma Dams in Texas Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks Hydroelectric power plants in Texas Hydroelectric power plants in Oklahoma Earth-filled dams United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Energy infrastructure completed in 1943 Dams completed in 1943 Red River of the South