American Falls Dam

American Falls Dam
Aerial view of the dam
Location in the United States Show map of the United States Location in Idaho Show map of Idaho
Official name	American Falls Dam
Location	Power County, Idaho, U.S.
Coordinates	42°46′51″N 112°52′32″W / 42.78083°N 112.87556°W / 42.78083; -112.87556
Construction began	1976, 1925
Opening date	1978, 1927
Operator(s)	United States Bureau of Reclamation
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Snake River
Height	94 ft (29 m)
Length	5,277 ft (1,608 m)
Width (base)	42.5 ft (13.0 m)
Reservoir
Creates	American Falls Reservoir
Total capacity	1,671,300 acre⋅ft (2.0615 km3)[1]
Normal elevation	4,354 ft (1,327 m) AMSL
Power Station
Operator(s)	Idaho Power Company
Turbines	3
Installed capacity	112 MW

The American Falls Dam is a concrete gravity-type dam in the western United States, located near American Falls, Idaho, on river mile 714.7 of the Snake River. The dam and reservoir are a part of the Minidoka Project on the Snake River Plain and are used primarily for flood control, irrigation, and recreation. When the original dam was built in the 1920s by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the residents of American Falls were forced to relocate three-quarters of their town to make room for the reservoir.^[2]

A second dam was completed in 1978 and the original structure was demolished. Although the dam itself is located in Power County, its reservoir also stretches northeastward into both Bingham County and Bannock County.