Chief Joseph Dam

The Chief Joseph Dam ( " Chief Joseph Dam " english ) is a 72 m high and 1817 m long dam with a hydroelectric plant on the Columbia River in the United States. It stands 2.4 km above Bridgeport, Washington.

The dam was originally " Foster Creek Dam" hot and was planned as part of the "River and Harbor Act" of 1946. It is used for hydropower production and irrigation. 1948, the project in - Chief Joseph Dam was renamed. Chief Joseph was a chief of the Nez Perce Indians, who spent his last years in exile in the Colville Indian Reservation.

The construction work began in 1949. The main work and the inlet openings were completed in 1955. The first turbine generator unit was completed in 1958. Eleven more turbines were built 1973-1979, and the dam and the water level was raised by three meters. The Chief Joseph Dam, as measured by the power plant capacity, the second largest hydroelectric plant in the United States by the Grand Coulee Dam; see List of largest hydroelectric power stations on earth.

The dam ( a gravity dam ) is 877 km above the mouth of the Columbia at Astoria, Oregon. It is operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACE ) Chief Joseph Dam Project Office. The hydropower plant has a capacity of 2620.134 MW. Other sources refer to 2457 or 2069 MW. The power generated is marketed by the " Bonneville Power Administration ".

The reservoir is called Rufus Woods Lake and 82 km long. At the lake near the dam is the Bridgeport State Park.