Glines Canyon Dam

Glines Canyon Dam
Glines Canyon Dam
Location of Glines Canyon Dam in Washington (state) Show map of Washington (state) Glines Canyon Dam (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	On Elwha River, along Olympic Hot Springs Road, about 11 miles (18 km) southwest of Port Angeles, in Olympic National Park, Clallam County, Washington, USA
Coordinates	48°00′07″N 123°36′00″W / 48.00203°N 123.59991°W / 48.00203; -123.59991
Construction began	1925
Opening date	1927
Demolition date	2014
Built by	Thebo, Starr, & Anderson Inc.
Designed by	P.M. Thebo; W.B. McMillan; W.A. Whitmire; H.R. Stevens; H. Schorer
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Elwha River
Height	210 ft (64 m)
Reservoir
Creates	Lake Mills
Total capacity	40,500 acre⋅ft (50,000,000 m3)
Surface area	415 acres (168 ha)
Power Station
Installed capacity	13.3 MW[1]
Glines Canyon Hydroelectric Power Plant
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Area	7 acres (2.8 ha)
Architectural style	Classical Revival
MPS	Hydroelectric Power Plants in Washington State, 1890--1938 MPS
NRHP reference No.	88002742[2]
Added to NRHP	December 15, 1988

Glines Canyon Dam, also known as Upper Elwha Dam,^[3] was a 210-foot (64 m) tall concrete arch dam that impounded Lake Mills reservoir on the Elwha River in Clallam County, Washington. As of 2015^[update], it is the tallest dam ever to be intentionally breached.

Built in 1927, Glines Canyon Dam was located 13 miles (21 km) upriver from the mouth of the Elwha River at the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and about 8 miles (13 km) upriver from Elwha Dam. Both dams lay within Olympic National Park, established in 1938. The National Park Service demolished Glines Canyon Dam in 2014 as part of the restoration of the Elwha River (Elwha Dam was demolished in 2011–2012). The project was the largest dam removal in history until the restoration of the lower Klamath River in the 2020s.