Oahe Dam
| Oahe Dam | |
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Oahe powerhouse showing surge chambers and part of powerhouse, looking to north-west.
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 Location of Oahe Dam in USA South Dakota
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| Official name | Oahe Dam |
| Location | Hughes / Stanley counties, South Dakota, USA |
| Coordinates | 44°27′07″N 100°23′57″W / 44.45194°N 100.39917°WCoordinates: 44°27′07″N 100°23′57″W / 44.45194°N 100.39917°W |
| Construction began | 1948 |
| Opening date | 1962 |
| Construction cost | $340 Million |
| Operator(s) | United States Army Corps of Engineers |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | flood control, earthfill |
| Impounds | Missouri River |
| Height | 245 feet (75 m) |
| Length | 9,360 feet (2,850 m) |
| Dam volume | 93,122,000 cubic yards (71,197,000 m3) |
| Spillways | 8 |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Oahe |
| Total capacity | 23,137,000 acre feet (28.539 km3) |
| Surface area | 374,000 acres (151,000 ha) (max) |
| Power station | |
| Commission date | April 1962–June 1963 |
| Turbines | 7x 112.29 MW |
| Installed capacity | 786 MW |
| Annual generation | 2,621 GWh |
The Oahe Dam is a large dam along the Missouri River, just north of Pierre, South Dakota in the United States. It creates Lake Oahe, the fourth largest artificial reservoir in the United States, which stretches 231 miles (372 km) up the course of the Missouri to Bismarck, North Dakota. The dam's powerplant provides electricity for much of the north-central United States. It is named for the Oahe Indian Mission established among the Lakota Sioux in 1874. The project provides flood control, electric power, irrigation, and navigation benefits, estimated by the Corps of Engineers at $150,000,000 per year.
In September and October 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through what is now Lake Oahe while exploring the Missouri River.
Oahe Dam was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944, and construction by the United States Army Corps of Engineers began in 1948. The world’s first rock tunnel boring machine (TBM) was invented in 1952 by James S. Robbins for the Oahe Dam project, which marked the beginning of machines replacing human tunnelers. The earth main dam reached its full height in October 1959. It was officially dedicated by President John F. Kennedy on August 17, 1962, the year in which it began generating power. The original project cost was $340,000,000.
Tours of the powerplant are given daily, Memorial Day through Labor Day.
As a result of the dam's construction the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation lost 150,000 acres (61,000 hectares) bringing it down to 2,850,000 acres (1,150,000 ha) today. Standing Rock Reservation lost 55,993 acres (22,660 ha) leaving it with 2,300,000 acres (930,000 ha). Much of the land was taken by eminent domain claims made by the Bureau of Reclamation. Over and above the land loss, most of the reservations' prime agricultural land was included in the loss. The regions where the populations were resettled had soil with a higher clay content, and resources such as medicinal plants were less prevalent.
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