Angostura Dam is an

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 ...

across the

Cheyenne River The Cheyenne River (; "Good River"), also written ''Chyone'', referring to the Cheyenne people who once lived there, is a tributary of the Missouri River in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is approximately 295 miles (475 ...

in Fall River County in southwestern

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, about south of

Rapid City Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed. It is the second-mo ...

. The dam consists of an earth-fill embankment with a concrete

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

section, high and long; it withholds the

Angostura Reservoir Angostura Reservoir is a reservoir on the Cheyenne River in Fall River County, South Dakota, United States. It was created after the construction of Angostura Dam in 1949 for irrigation by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. "Angostura" means "na ...

. The dam was conceived as early as 1913, but it was not until the 1930s when a regional drought caused crop failures that the project received widespread support from farmers. Built from 1946 to 1949, the dam is part of the Angostura Division of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, and is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The dam's primary purpose is to store water for the

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

of of project lands. The service area lies along of the Cheyenne River below the dam, and is supplied by the Angostura Canal, which has a diversion capacity of . The dam and reservoir regulate runoff from an area of . The reservoir has a conservation storage capacity of , with an extra of surcharge, flood-control storage.

Flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

water releases are controlled by a

with five radial gates, which can pass up to .

is one of the only large lakes in western South Dakota. With of shoreline and of water, the reservoir is stocked with several species of fish, including

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...

and

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxi ...

. The Angostura Recreation Area operated by the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks surrounds the lake.

External links

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation - Angostura DamAngostura Recreation Area - South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks

References

{{reflist, 2 Buildings and structures in Fall River County, South Dakota Dams in South Dakota Earth-filled dams Gravity dams Dams completed in 1949 United States Bureau of Reclamation dams 1949 establishments in South Dakota

See also

External links

References