Swan Falls Dam is a concrete gravity type

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 ...

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 ...

in southwestern

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), ...

, United States. At the dam, the river is the border of Ada and Owyhee counties; it is approximately east of Murphy, the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

of Owyhee County.

Description

Built in 1901 to generate power, Swan Falls is the oldest hydroelectric dam on the Snake River. In the 1990s, the original power plant was replaced. The dam was built with fish passage facilities, but they proved to be very poor in performance. For this reason, among others, the C. J. Strike Dam, built upriver from Swan Falls in the early 1950s, was not equipped with fish passage facilities. Thus, the two dams combined to become the first artificial barrier to

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 ...

fish migration up the Snake River. Today, Hells Canyon Dam (1967) is the first total barrier to fish migration on the Snake.Middle Snake Subbasin Plan
Northwest Power and Conservation Council Swan Falls Dam and its reservoir lie within the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area; the dam and power plant were listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976. File:Cassier's magazine (1904) (14582527697).jpg, 1904 File:VIEW SHOWING THE DOWNSTREAM SIDE OF SWAN FALLS DAM AND SPILLWAY, LOOKING UPSTREAM TO EAST - Swan Falls Dam, Snake River, Kuna, Ada County, ID HAER ID,37-KU.V,1-6.tif File:Swan Falls Dam Before Sunrise.jpg, Swan Falls Dam at sunrise

References

External links

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). It administers three programs established to document historic places in the United States: Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American E ...

(HAER) documentation, filed under Snake River, Kuna, Owyhee County, ID: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Dams in Idaho Dams on the Snake River Buildings and structures in Ada County, Idaho Buildings and structures in Owyhee County, Idaho Hydroelectric power plants in Idaho Idaho Power dams Dams completed in 1901 Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho Energy infrastructure completed in 1901 Historic American Engineering Record in Idaho National Register of Historic Places in Ada County, Idaho National Register of Historic Places in Owyhee County, Idaho 1901 establishments in Idaho {{OwyheeCountyID-geo-stub

Description

See also

References

Further reading

External links