Swift Dam (Montana)
Swift Dam (National ID # MT00581) is a dam in Pondera County, Montana, on the southern end of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
The dam at was originally constructed around 1910, with a height of 157 feet.[1] The embankment structure gave way on June 10, 1964, after heavy rains caused flooding on Birch Creek. The dam collapsed and sent a 30-foot wall of water down the creek bed. The nearby dam at Lower Two Medicine Lake also failed, and at least 28 people were killed.[2]
The current concrete-arch structure was completed in 1967, with a height of 205 feet, and a length at its crest of 573 feet.[3] The reservoir is also contained by a secondary earthen dike (National ID # MT00580) with a height of 53 feet and a length of 457 feet, also completed in 1967. The dams and reservoir are owned and operated by the local Pondera Canal & Reservoir Company.[4]
The reservoir, Swift Reservoir, has a maximum storage capacity of 34,000 acre-feet, and normal storage of 30,000 acre-feet.[5] Recreation is restricted to hiking in the area, with a parking area that requires Blackfeet Nation permission.
References[]
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-01. Retrieved 2012-09-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Torrents of rain, miles of misery: 1964".
- ^ http://ce-npdp-serv2.stanford.edu/DamDirectory/DamDetail.jsp?npdp_id=MT00581[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2012-09-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ http://ce-npdp-serv2.stanford.edu/DamDirectory/DamDetail.jsp?npdp_id=MT00581[permanent dead link]
Coordinates: 48°09′47″N 112°52′19″W / 48.16306°N 112.87192°W
- Dams in Montana
- Reservoirs in Montana
- United States privately owned dams
- Dam failures in the United States
- Dams completed in 1967
- Buildings and structures in Pondera County, Montana
- Arch dams
- Landforms of Pondera County, Montana