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Little Goose Dam
LGLandDam.jpg
From the north side of the Snake River
Location Columbia / Whitman counties, Washington, USA
Coordinates 46°35′15″N 118°01′34″W / 46.5873693°N 118.0260593°W / 46.5873693; -118.0260593
Construction began June 1963
Opening date 1970
Operator(s) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Concrete-gravity, run-of-the-river
Height 98 ft (30 m)
Length 2,655 ft (809 m)
Elevation at crest 643 ft (196 m) above sea level
Spillway type Service, gate-controlled
Reservoir
Creates Lake Bryan
Total capacity 516,300 acre⋅ft (0.6368 km3)
Surface area 10,025 acres (40.57 km2)
Power station
Turbines 6 x 135–153 MW (181,000–205,000 hp) units
Installed capacity 932 MW (1,250,000 hp)

Little Goose Lock and Dam is a hydroelectric, concrete, run-of-the-river dam in Columbia and Whitman counties in the state of Washington, on the Snake River. The dam is located 9 miles (14 km) northeast of the town of Starbuck, and 25 miles (40 km) north of Dayton.

Construction began in June 1963 on what was Little Goose Island. The main structure and three generators were completed in 1970, with an additional three generators finished in 1978. Generating capacity is 810 megawatts (1,090,000 hp), with an overload capacity of 932 megawatts (1,250,000 hp). The spillway has eight gates and is 512 feet (156 m) long.

LGLandDam2
Looking east, Little Goose Dam with lock & fish ladder on the right (south side of the river), spillway in the middle of the dam, and the power generation between the spillway and the lock.

Little Goose Dam is part of the Columbia River Basin system of dams.

Lake Bryan, named for Doctor Enoch A. Bryan, is formed behind the dam. The lake stretches to the base of Lower Granite Dam, 37 miles (60 km) upstream. Lake Herbert G. West, formed from Lower Monumental Dam runs 28 miles (45 km) downstream from the base of the dam.

Navigation lock
  • Single-lift
  • 86 feet (26 m) wide
  • 668 feet (204 m) long
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