Cottonwood Springs Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cottonwood Springs Dam |
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 Location of Cottonwood Springs Dam in South Dakota.
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Fall River County, South Dakota, United States. |
| Coordinates | 43°26′17″N 103°33′57″W / 43.4380°N 103.5658°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Opening date | 1969 |
| Owner(s) |  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment, earthen |
| Height | 123 ft (37 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Total capacity | 11,635 acre⋅ft (14,351,561 m3) |
| Surface area | 36 acres (15 ha) |
The Cottonwood Springs Dam is a special kind of wall built across a river. You can find it in Fall River County, South Dakota, which is in the southwestern part of South Dakota. It's located just south of the famous Black Hills.
Contents
What is the Cottonwood Springs Dam?
The Cottonwood Springs Dam is an important structure. It was built in 1969 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This group is part of the U.S. Army and helps manage many water projects.
How Was the Dam Built?
The dam is an earthen dam. This means it's made mostly from compacted earth, like soil, sand, and rock. It stands 123 feet (about 37 meters) tall. The top of the dam, called its crest, is 1190 feet (about 363 meters) long.
What Does the Dam Do?
The main job of the Cottonwood Springs Dam is to help with flood control. It holds back the water from Cottonwood Springs Creek. This stops the creek from overflowing and causing floods in nearby areas.
Cottonwood Springs Lake
The dam creates a lake called Cottonwood Springs Lake. This lake is like a big storage area for water.
Lake Size and Capacity
The surface of the lake covers about 36 acres (about 14.5 hectares). It can hold a lot of water, up to 11,635 acre-feet. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land to a depth of one foot. That's a lot of water!
Fun Activities at the Lake
Cottonwood Springs Lake is a great place for outdoor fun all year round. You can go camping there, enjoy hiking on the trails, or try your luck at fishing. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also manages these fun activities.
Where is the Dam Located?
The Cottonwood Springs Dam and its lake are easy to find. They are about 6 miles (about 9.7 kilometers) west of Hot Springs, South Dakota. Another dam built by the Corps of Engineers, called Cold Brook Dam, is about 5 miles (about 8 kilometers) northeast of Cottonwood Springs Dam.
Part of a Bigger Water System
Both the dam and the lake are part of the Cheyenne River watershed. A watershed is an area of land where all the water drains into a common river, lake, or ocean. So, all the rain and snow that falls in this area eventually flows towards the Cheyenne River.
