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Photo: 2007-11-01 USA MT Flathead Lake 13-51-03_0278
How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
Built between 1948 and 1953 by the Bureau of Reclamation under the Grand Coulee Power Office, this modernist-style concrete arch-gravity dam impounds the Hungry Horse Reservoir on the South Fork of the Flathead River near Hungry Horse, Montana. The dam allows for water storage, flood control, hydroelectric power generation, and extensive recreation for the area. The dam contains 3.1 million cubic yards (2.4 million cubic meters) of concrete, stands 564 feet (172 meters) tall, being the 10th tallest concrete dam in the United States, is 2,115 feet (645 meters) long, and features the highest glory hole-style emergency spillway in the world. The dam impounds a reservoir 34 miles long, which contains 3.5 million acre-feet of water storage, with the surface elevation at full pool being 3,560 feet (1,085 meters) above sea level. The dam produces 428 megawatts of electricity. The reservoir has several log booms deployed behind the dam in order to prevent logjams at the intakes and spillway, with no recreational watercraft being permitted in the area between these and the dam itself. The dam, though located a bit off the beaten path, is located very close to the west entrance to Glacier National Park, only a few miles from US Highway 2.