Ah Pah Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ah Pah Dam |
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Approximate extent of the planned reservoir
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Humboldt County, Northern California |
| Status | Unbuilt |
| Owner(s) | U.S. Bureau of Reclamation |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Concrete thick arch |
| Impounds | Klamath River |
| Height | 813 ft (248 m) |
| Length | 3,500 ft (1,100 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Total capacity | 15,000,000 acre⋅ft (19 km3) |
| Catchment area | 14,700 sq mi (38,000 km2) |
| Power station | |
| Installed capacity | 900–1,700 MW |
The Ah Pah Dam was a very large dam that was planned for the Klamath River in California, United States. It was proposed in 1951 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, a government agency that manages water projects. This dam was never built, but it was part of a huge plan to move water across California.
The name "Ah Pah" comes from the language of the Yurok people. They are a Native American tribe who live along the Klamath River.
A Giant Plan
The Ah Pah Dam was designed to be 813 feet (248 m) high. This is almost as tall as the famous Transamerica Pyramid building in San Francisco. It would have been located about 12 miles (19 km) upstream from where the Klamath River meets the ocean.
If built, the dam would have created a massive lake. This lake would have been the largest in California. It would have held 15,000,000 acre-feet (19 km3) of water. This is about two-thirds the size of Lake Mead, one of the largest reservoirs in the U.S.
Impact on the Land
Building such a large dam would have changed the landscape a lot. The huge reservoir would have flooded many miles of rivers. This included about 40 miles (64 km) of the Trinity River. It also would have flooded parts of the lower Salmon River.
The reservoir would also have covered about 70 miles (110 km) of the Klamath River itself. This area included lands belonging to the Yurok, Karuk, and Hupa Native American tribes.
The Klamath Diversion
The Ah Pah Dam was part of an even bigger plan called the Klamath Diversion. This plan aimed to move water from Northern California to Southern California. The idea was to send water by gravity through a very long tunnel.
This tunnel would have been about 60 miles (97 km) long. It would have carried water from the Ah Pah reservoir to the Sacramento River. The water would then flow south towards areas like Redding and beyond. This was a very ambitious and extreme plan to supply water to different parts of the state.
