Kinzua Dam
| Kinzua Dam | |
|---|---|
Kinzua Dam in July 2015
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| Official name | Kinzua Dam |
| Location |
Allegheny National Forest Glade Township / Mead Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°50′16.01″N 79°0′10.82″W / 41.8377806°N 79.0030056°WCoordinates: 41°50′16.01″N 79°0′10.82″W / 41.8377806°N 79.0030056°W |
| Construction began | 1960 |
| Opening date | 1965 |
| Operator(s) | Army Corps of Engineers |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Allegheny River |
| Height | 179 feet (55 m) |
| Length | 1,897 feet (578 m) |
| Width (base) | 1,245 feet (379 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Allegheny Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 1,300,000 acre feet (1.6 km3) |
| Active capacity | 573,000 acre feet (0.707 km3) |
The Kinzua Dam, on the Allegheny River in Warren County, Pennsylvania, is one of the largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi River. It is located within the Allegheny National Forest.
The dam is located 6 miles (10 km) east of Warren, Pennsylvania, along Route 59, within the 500,000-acre (200,000 ha) Allegheny National Forest. A boat marina and beach are located within the dam boundaries. In addition to providing flood control and power generation, the dam created Pennsylvania's second deepest lake, the Allegheny Reservoir, also known as Kinzua Lake.
The lake extends 25 miles to the north, nearly to Salamanca, New York, which is within the Allegany Reservation of the Seneca Nation of New York. Federal condemnation of tribal lands to be flooded for the project displaced more than 600 Seneca members and cost the reservation 10,000 acres (4,000 ha), nearly one-third of its territory and much of its fertile farmland.
In 1936, a major flood struck the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, which prompted Congress to pass the Flood Control Acts of 1936 and 1938, authorizing the construction of a dam on the Allegheny River. Construction on the dam was not begun by the US Army Corps of Engineers until 1960; it was completed in 1965. By that time considerable opposition to the dam had developed, particularly among the Seneca Nation of Indians based in New York. Due to proposed flooding of lands behind the dam to create a lake for recreation and hydropower, they would lose numerous communities and thousands of acres of fertile farmland. More than 600 families were displaced by the project and forced to relocate.
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