Revelstoke Dam, also known as Revelstoke Canyon 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 ...

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 ...

(combined earthfill dam 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. Gravity dams are designed so that each section of the dam is ...

) spanning the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

, north of

Revelstoke, British Columbia Revelstoke () is a city in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, with a census population of 8,275 in 2021. Revelstoke is located east of Vancouver, and west of Calgary, Alberta. The city is situated on the banks of the Columbia River just s ...

, 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 A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

behind the dam is named Lake Revelstoke. The dam is operated by

BC Hydro The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, trade name, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, wi ...

History

Construction of Revelstoke Dam started in 1978, and was completed in 1983. Areas inundated by the dam include the

Dalles des Morts Dalles des Morts, also known as Death Rapids in English, was a famously violent stretch of the Columbia River upstream from Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada, now submerged beneath the waters of Lake Revelstoke. History 1817 The rapids acquir ...

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 the Big Bend Highway, which was the original route of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

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 The Big Bend Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Big Bend Country of the Colony of British Columbia (now a Canadian province) in the mid-1860s. History Discovery & early miners In 1861, the gold commissioner at Rock Creek reported a First Nations ...

and the head of river navigation via the

Arrow Lakes The Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. The lakes are situated between the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashee Mountains to the west. Beac ...

and the

from

Marcus, Washington Marcus is a town in Stevens County, Washington, Stevens County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 216 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Marcus was named for Marcus Oppenheimer who settled in ...

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 First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

gallery opened in 2009, with exhibits about the art, history and culture of the Secwepemc (Shuswap),

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of ...

and

Ktunaxa The Kutenai ( ), also known as the Ktunaxa ( ; ), Ksanka ( ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, norther ...

peoples.

Sinixt The Sinixt"Sinixt Nation…" (; also known as the Sin-Aikst or Sin Aikst,Reyes 2002, ''passim.'' "Senijextee", "Arrow Lakes Band", or—less commonly in recent decades—simply as "The Lakes") are a First Nations People. The Sinixt are d ...

is not included in the exhibit, but the Revelstoke Dam is considered 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 6,361 GWh of electricity. By 2018, after the expansion, then plant generated 7,817 GWh 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.

References

External links

BC Hydro Revelstoke Dam Visitor Centre page

{{Columbia River dams, dam=Revelstoke Dam, downriver=

, 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

History

Revelstoke Dam Visitor Centre

Expansion

See also

References

External links