Oxbow Dam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oxbow Dam
Oxbowdam.jpg
Official nameOxbow Dam
LocationHells Canyon, Adams County, Idaho / Baker County, Oregon, USA
Coordinates44°58′15″N 116°50′04″W / 44.97083°N 116.83444°W / 44.97083; -116.83444Coordinates: 44°58′15″N 116°50′04″W / 44.97083°N 116.83444°W / 44.97083; -116.83444
Opening date1961; 61 years ago (1961)[1]
Operator(s)Idaho Power Company
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsSnake River
Height175 feet (53 m)
Reservoir
CreatesOxbow Reservoir
Total capacity58,200 acre-feet (71,800,000 m3)
Catchment area73,300 square miles (190,000 km2)
Surface area1,150 acres (470 ha)
Power Station
Installed capacity190 megawatts (250,000 hp)
Annual generation1,047 gigawatt-hours (3,770 TJ)

Oxbow Dam is a hydroelectric run-of-the-river rockfill dam on the Snake River on the Idaho-Oregon border, in Hells Canyon (river mile 273). Completed in 1961,[1] it is part of the Hells Canyon Project that also includes Hells Canyon Dam and Brownlee Dam, built and operated by Idaho Power Company.

The dam's powerhouse contains four generating units with a total nameplate capacity of 190 megawatts (250,000 hp).

Lacking passage for migrating salmon, the three Hells Canyon Project dams blocked access by anadromous salmonids to a stretch of the Snake River drainage basin from Hells Canyon Dam up to Shoshone Falls, which naturally prevents any upstream fish passage to the upper Snake River basin.

Heliport[]

Oxbow Heliport (FAA LID: OR83) is a private 100-by-100-foot (30 by 30 m), turf heliport owned by Idaho Power.[2]

See also[]

Oxbow Dam power station

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b "Oxbow completed". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (photo). November 30, 1961. p. 1, section 2.
  2. ^ FAA 5010 for OR83

References[]

External links[]

Retrieved from ""