Mica Dam
| Mica Dam | |
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Aerial view of the Mica Dam
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| Location | Mica Creek, British Columbia, Canada |
| Coordinates | 52°04′40″N 118°33′59″W / 52.07778°N 118.56639°WCoordinates: 52°04′40″N 118°33′59″W / 52.07778°N 118.56639°W |
| Opening date | 29 March 1973 |
| Owner(s) | BC Hydro |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Columbia River |
| Height | 240 m (787 ft) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Kinbasket Lake |
| Total capacity | 24.762 km3 (20,075,000 acre·ft) |
| Surface area | 430 km2 (170 sq mi) |
| Power station | |
| Commission date | 1976–1977 |
| Turbines | 4 |
| Installed capacity | 2,805 MW |
| Annual generation | 7,202 GWh |
The Mica Dam is a hydroelectric dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada, as one of three Canadian projects built under the terms of the Columbia River Treaty. Completed in 1973 under the terms of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty, the Mica powerhouse has a generating capacity of 1,805 megawatts (MW). The dam is operated by BC Hydro. The Mica Dam, named after the nearby settlement of Mica Creek and its associated stream in turn named because of the abundance of mica minerals in the area, is one of the largest earthfill dams in the world. The reservoir for the dam is Kinbasket Lake, which was created when the dam was built. Water below the dam flows south directly into Revelstoke Lake, the reservoir for the Revelstoke Dam. The dam's underground powerhouse was the second largest in the world at the time of its construction, and was the first 500 kV installation of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) insulated switchgear in the world. It is also the dam farthest up the Columbia River.
Mica Dam was operational on March 29, 1973. The dam was built to a height of 244 metres (801 ft) above bedrock, near the first location of the village Mica Creek. At the time, the dam was one of three storage dams built by the provincial power company BC Hydro, within the description of the Columbia River Treaty. The dam operated with a 427-square-kilometre (165 sq mi) reservoir containing 15 cubic kilometres (12,000,000 acre·ft) of live storage and 24.8 cubic kilometres (20,100,000 acre·ft) of total storage in McNaughton Lake (later renamed Kinbasket Lake).
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