Bighorn Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bighorn Dam |
|
|---|---|
A section of the Bighorn Dam
|
|
| Official name | Bighorn Dam |
| Location | Clearwater County, Alberta, Canada |
| Construction began | 1972 |
| Opening date | 1972 |
| Owner(s) | TransAlta |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment dam |
| Impounds | North Saskatchewan River |
| Height | 94m |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Abraham |
| Surface area | 53.7 km2 (20.7 sq mi) |
| Maximum length | 32 km (20 mi) |
| Maximum width | 3.3 km (2.1 mi) |
| Normal elevation | 1,340 m (4,400 ft) |
| Power station | |
| Commission date | 1972 |
| Hydraulic head | 91 m (299 ft) (Max) |
| Installed capacity | 120 MW |
| Capacity factor | 38.8% |
| Annual generation | 408 GWh (1,470 TJ) |
The Bighorn Dam is a large embankment dam in Clearwater County, located in west-central Alberta, Canada. It's also known as the Bighorn Hydro Plant. This dam was built in 1972 by a company called Calgary Power. Its construction created Lake Abraham, which is now Alberta's biggest reservoir (a large artificial lake). Today, the dam and its power plant are managed by TransAlta.
Before the dam was built, there weren't any studies to see how it might affect the environment or the people living nearby. There were also no public meetings to discuss the project. The building of the Bighorn Dam caused the Kootenay Plains area to flood. This flooding greatly impacted the Bighorn Stoney Indigenous people who lived there. Their way of life, which included hunting and fur trapping, was stopped. Their homes, important burial sites, and grazing lands for animals were all covered by water.
Powering Alberta
The Bighorn Plant is the second largest hydroelectric plant owned by TransAlta. The biggest one is the Brazeau Dam. The Bighorn Plant can produce 120 megawatts (MW) of electricity. A megawatt is a huge amount of power, enough to light up many homes!
Even though it's the second largest, the Bighorn Plant has a lot of water available. This means it can actually produce the most hydroelectric energy in Alberta. On average, it generates about 408 GWh (gigawatt-hours) of electricity each year. A gigawatt-hour is a way to measure how much energy is produced over time.
The Bighorn Plant is one of two TransAlta hydroelectric plants that use the North Saskatchewan River system in Alberta to make power.
Where is the Dam?
The dam was built in 1972 in a mountain gap called Windy Point. This area is part of the Front Ranges of the Canadian Rockies. It is located west of where the North Saskatchewan River meets the Bighorn River.
