Brownlee Dam is a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

earth fill

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 ...

in the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

United States, on the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

along the

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

border ( Washington County, Idaho in and Baker County in Oregon). In

Hells Canyon Hells Canyon is a canyon in the Western United States, along the border of eastern Oregon, western Idaho, and a small section of eastern Washington. It is part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area which is also located in part of ...

river mile A river mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its river mouth, mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometre, kilometers is the river kilometer. They are an ...

285, it impounds the Snake River in the Brownlee Reservoir.

Description

The dam is part of the Hells Canyon Project that also includes

Hells Canyon Dam Hells Canyon Dam is a concrete gravity dam in the Western United States, western United States, on the Snake River in Hells Canyon along the Idaho-Oregon border. At river mile 247, the dam impounds Hells Canyon Reservoir; its spillway elevation i ...

and

Oxbow Dam Oxbow Dam is a hydroelectric run-of-the-river rockfill dam in the western United States, on the Snake River in Hells Canyon ( river mile 273) along the Idaho-Oregon border. Description Completed in 1961, the dam is part of the Hells Canyon ...

, all built and operated by

Idaho Power Company Idaho Power Company (IPC) is a regulated electrical power utility. Its business involves the purchase, sale, generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in eastern Oregon and southern Idaho. It is a subsidiary of IDACORP, Inc. The c ...

. The first and upper-most of the three dams, its contractor was Morrison-Knudsen of

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

. Filling started on , flooding the community of

Robinette, Oregon Robinette is a former unincorporated community in Baker County, Oregon, United States. Robinette was platted around 1898, along a Northwest Railway Company line that never developed. In 1909, a railroad station and townsite at this locale were ...

. The dam's powerhouse contains five generating units with a total nameplate capacity of 585.4 megawatts. Lacking passage for migrating

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

, the three Hells Canyon Project dams blocked access by

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...

salmonids to a stretch of the Snake River

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

from Hells Canyon Dam up to

Shoshone Falls Shoshone Falls ( ) is a waterfall in the Western United States, western United States, on the Snake River in Magic Valley, south-central Idaho, approximately northeast of the city of Twin Falls, Idaho, Twin Falls. Sometimes called the "Niagara o ...

, which naturally prevents any upstream fish passage to the upper Snake River basin.

Heliport

There is a private heliport, Brownlee Heliport , located near the dam.

References

External links

Brownlee Dam
Columbia Basin Research
Brownlee Dam
Northwest Power and Conservation Council
Brownlee Dam
Idaho Power {{authority control Dams in Idaho Hydroelectric power plants in Idaho Dams on the Snake River Dams in Oregon Buildings and structures in Baker County, Oregon Buildings and structures in Washington County, Idaho Earth-filled dams Idaho Power dams Dams completed in 1958 Energy infrastructure completed in 1958 1958 establishments in Oregon

Description

Heliport

See also

References

External links