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The Revelstoke Dam, also known as Revelstoke Canyon Dam, is a
* List of largest power stations in Canada
* List of generating stations in British Columbia
* List of dams in the Columbia River watershed
* Hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River
* Mica Dam
* Keenleyside Dam
BC Hydro Revelstoke Dam Visitor Centre page
{{Columbia River dams, dam=Revelstoke Dam, downriver= Keenleyside Dam, upriver= Mica Dam Dams on the Columbia River Dams in British Columbia Hydroelectric power stations in British Columbia Museums in British Columbia Revelstoke, British Columbia Dams completed in 1984 Gravity dams 1984 establishments in British Columbia BC Hydro Publicly owned dams in Canada
hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
dam (combined earthfill 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, ...
and gravity dam
A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation to oppose the horizontal pressure of water pushing against it. ...
) spanning the Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
, north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. The powerhouse was completed in 1984 and has an installed capacity of 2480 MW. Four generating units were installed initially, with one additional unit (#5) having come online in 2011. The reservoir behind the dam is named Lake Revelstoke. The dam is operated by BC Hydro.
History
Construction of Revelstoke Dam started in 1978, and was completed in 1983. Areas inundated by the dam include the Dalles des Morts or "Death Rapids", which was the stretch of canyon just above the dam's location, and various small localities along the pre-inundation route of theBig Bend Highway
The Big Bend Highway is a former highway in the interior of British Columbia, was the original alignment of British Columbia Highway 1, Highway 1 (Hwy 1) which followed the Columbia River between Revelstoke, British Columbia, Revelstoke and ...
, which was the original route of the Trans-Canada Highway until the building of its Rogers Pass section. Just below the dam was the location of La Porte, one of the boomtowns of the Big Bend Gold Rush and the head of river navigation via the Arrow Lakes and Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
from Marcus, Washington.
Revelstoke Dam Visitor Centre
The Revelstoke Dam Visitor Centre is located north of Revelstoke and is open seasonally. The centre features interactive exhibits, activities about the dam and hydroelectricity and a First Nations gallery opened in 2009, with exhibits about the art, history and culture of the Secwepemc (Shuswap), Okanagan and Ktunaxa peoples. Sinixt are not included in the exhibit, but also consider the Revelstoke Dam to fall within their territory. There is also a theatre, gift shop, and outdoor walkway across the top of the Powerhouse.Expansion
BC Hydro completed an expansion to add a fifth unit. The unit went online in 2011 and added 500 MW capacity, bringing the total generating capacity of the dam to around 2480 MW. In 2009, the plant generated 6,361GWh
A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
of electricity. By 2018, after the expansion, then plant generated 7,817 GWh
A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
of electricity. The dam was built to accommodate a sixth unit, also sized around 500 MW; a contingency plan to build the sixth unit is possible but not scheduled as of December 2018.
See also
* List of largest power stations in Canada
* List of generating stations in British Columbia
* List of dams in the Columbia River watershed
* Hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River
* Mica Dam
* Keenleyside Dam
References
External links
BC Hydro Revelstoke Dam Visitor Centre page
{{Columbia River dams, dam=Revelstoke Dam, downriver= Keenleyside Dam, upriver= Mica Dam Dams on the Columbia River Dams in British Columbia Hydroelectric power stations in British Columbia Museums in British Columbia Revelstoke, British Columbia Dams completed in 1984 Gravity dams 1984 establishments in British Columbia BC Hydro Publicly owned dams in Canada