Jackson Lake Dam

Jackson Lake Dam
Looking west in June 1997 from the
north shore of the Snake River
Jackson Lake Dam is located in Wyoming
Jackson Lake Dam
Location of Jackson Lake Dam in Wyoming
Jackson Lake Dam is located in the United States
Jackson Lake Dam
Jackson Lake Dam (the United States)
LocationTeton County, Wyoming, in Grand Teton National Park
Coordinates43°51′27.53″N 110°35′22.54″W / 43.8576472°N 110.5895944°W / 43.8576472; -110.5895944
Construction began1911
Opening date1916; 108 years ago (1916)
Operator(s)U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Dam and spillways
Type of damConcrete gravity with earth embankment wings
ImpoundsSnake River
Height65 ft (20 m)
Length4,920 ft (1,500 m)
Width (crest)24 ft (7.3 m)
Width (base)72 ft (22 m)
Spillway typegated overflow
Spillway capacity8690cfs at 6790 ft
Reservoir
CreatesJackson Lake
Total capacity847,000 acre-feet (1.045 km3)
Catchment area1,824 sq mi (4,720 km2)
Columbia River Basin dams
Columbia River Basin dams

Jackson Lake Dam is a concrete and earth-fill dam in the western United States, at the outlet of Jackson Lake in northwestern Wyoming. The lake and dam are situated within Grand Teton National Park in Teton County.[1] The Snake River emerges from the dam and flows about eight hundred miles (1,300 km) through Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington to its mouth on the Columbia River in eastern Washington.

The chief purpose of the dam is to provide water storage for irrigation in the Snake River basin in the state of Idaho as part of the Minidoka Project. Jackson Lake is a natural lake, but its depth was increased by the dam to provide water storage.

  1. ^ Horsley, Lynn (May 9, 1983). "Jackson Lake Dam". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. p. 8B.