Ice Harbor Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ice Harbor Dam |
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|---|---|
Ice Harbor Dam from the west,
north side of the Snake River. |
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Franklin / Walla Walla counties, Washington |
| Coordinates | 46°14′58″N 118°52′47″W / 46.2495803°N 118.8797221°W |
| Construction began | June 1955 |
| Opening date | 1962 |
| Owner(s) | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Concrete gravity, run-of-the-river |
| Impounds | Snake River |
| Height | 100 feet (30 m) |
| Length | 2,822 feet (860 m) |
| Spillway type | Service, gate-controlled |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Sacajawea |
| Total capacity | 249,000 acre⋅ft (0.307 km3) |
| Surface area | 8,375 acres (33.89 km2) |
| Normal elevation | 443 feet (135 m) AMSL |
| Power station | |
| Turbines | 3 x 90 MW units; 3 x 111 MW units |
| Installed capacity | 603 MW 693 MW (max) |
Ice Harbor Lock and Dam is a hydroelectric, concrete gravity run-of-the-river dam on the Snake River in Walla Walla and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The dam is located 8 miles (13 km) northeast of the town of Burbank and 12 miles (19 km) east of Pasco, river mile 9.7. Its name comes from a tiny bay in the river where boats once tied up to wait for upstream ice-jams to break up.
Construction began in June 1955. The main structure and three generators were completed in 1961, with an additional three generators finished in 1976. Generating capacity is 603 megawatts, with an overload capacity of 693 MW. The spillway has ten gates and is 590 feet (180 m) long.
Dam system
Ice Harbor Dam is part of the Columbia River Basin system of dams.
Visitor center
Inside the Dam on the South side of the river is a large visitor center that has been recently updated to include a new film "The Snake - River of Life" and a new modern interactive touch screen kiosk with information on the dam and recreational opportunities in the area. The visitor center also has a fish ladder viewing room which offers an excellent view of migrating Salmon, Steelhead and Shad. Due to security, visitors must pass through the security gate to gain access.
Surrounding water bodies
Lake Sacajawea, named for Sacajawea, is formed behind the dam. The lake stretches to the base of Lower Monumental Dam, 32 miles (51 km) upstream. The Wallula Channel, formed from the backup of Snake River entering the Columbia River just southeast of Pasco, runs 10 miles (16 km) downstream from the base of the dam.
- Single-lift
- 86 feet (26 m) wide
- 675 feet (206 m) long
Climate
The highest temperature ever measured in Washington state, at 118 °F (47.8 °C), was recorded at Ice Harbor Dam on August 5, 1961.
| Climate data for Ice Harbor Dam, WA | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 67 (19) |
74 (23) |
81 (27) |
94 (34) |
100 (38) |
110 (43) |
112 (44) |
118 (48) |
100 (38) |
89 (32) |
78 (26) |
68 (20) |
118 (48) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 41.2 (5.1) |
48.4 (9.1) |
57.5 (14.2) |
65.1 (18.4) |
73.3 (22.9) |
81.0 (27.2) |
89.2 (31.8) |
88.4 (31.3) |
79.8 (26.6) |
66.3 (19.1) |
51.3 (10.7) |
41.7 (5.4) |
65.3 (18.5) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 27.4 (−2.6) |
30.2 (−1.0) |
34.8 (1.6) |
40.5 (4.7) |
47.5 (8.6) |
54.2 (12.3) |
59.9 (15.5) |
59.2 (15.1) |
50.8 (10.4) |
41.3 (5.2) |
34.4 (1.3) |
28.5 (−1.9) |
42.4 (5.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −14 (−26) |
−14 (−26) |
13 (−11) |
22 (−6) |
28 (−2) |
38 (3) |
44 (7) |
38 (3) |
27 (−3) |
17 (−8) |
6 (−14) |
−14 (−26) |
−14 (−26) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.26 (32) |
0.92 (23) |
0.98 (25) |
0.80 (20) |
0.95 (24) |
0.79 (20) |
0.24 (6.1) |
0.41 (10) |
0.45 (11) |
0.82 (21) |
1.33 (34) |
1.42 (36) |
10.37 (262.1) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 2.5 (6.4) |
0.9 (2.3) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
1.6 (4.1) |
5.3 (13.56) |
| Source: https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa3883 | |||||||||||||
Images for kids
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Looking north, Ice Harbor Dam with lock and one fish ladder on the left (north side of the river), spillway in the middle of the dam, and the power generation station and another fish ladder on the south side (right) of the river.
