Brownlee Dam

Brownlee Dam
View from northeast
Brownlee Dam is located in Idaho
Brownlee Dam
Location in Idaho
Brownlee Dam is located in the United States
Brownlee Dam
Location in the United States
Official nameBrownlee Dam
CountryUnited States
LocationHells Canyon,
Baker Co., Oregon / Washington Co., Idaho
Coordinates44°50′10″N 116°54′00″W / 44.836°N 116.9°W / 44.836; -116.9
Construction began1955[1][2]
Opening dateMay 9, 1958;
66 years ago
 (1958-05-09) [3][4]
Operator(s)Idaho Power Company
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsSnake River
Height420 feet (128 m)
Reservoir
CreatesBrownlee Reservoir
Total capacity1,426,700 acre-feet (1.7598 km3)
Catchment area72,590 square miles (188,000 km2)
Surface area15,000 acres (61 km2)
Normal elevation2,070 feet (630 m)
Power Station
Installed capacity585.4 MW
Annual generation2,406.8 GWh
Columbia River Basin
Columbia River Basin

Brownlee Dam is a hydroelectric earth fill embankment dam in the western United States, on the Snake River along the Idaho-Oregon border (Washington County, Idaho in and Baker County in Oregon). In Hells Canyon at river mile 285, it impounds the Snake River in the 58-mile-long (93 km) Brownlee Reservoir.

  1. ^ "Brownlee dam one-third done". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 2, 1956. p. 26.
  2. ^ "Brownlee dam base readied". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 30, 1956. p. 12.
  3. ^ "Idaho Power shuts gates of big dam". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. May 10, 1958. p. 2.
  4. ^ "New dam goes into operation on Snake River". Florence Times. Alabama. Associated Press. May 10, 1958. p. 7.