| Ross Dam | |
|---|---|
 Ross Dam during the Skagit River floods of 2003. | |
| Location | Ross Lake National Recreation Area, Whatcom County, Washington, USA |
| Coordinates | 48°43′54″N 121°04′02″W / 48.73167°N 121.06722°W |
| Construction began | 1937 |
| Opening date | 1949 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Skagit River |
| Height | 540 feet (160 m) |
| Length | 1,300 feet (400 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Ross Lake |
| Total capacity | 1,435,000 acre-feet (1.770 km3) |
| Surface area | 11,700 acres (4,700 ha) |
| Power Station | |
| Turbines | 4 |
| Installed capacity | 460 MW |
| Annual generation | 619,120,000 KWh[1] |
| Website http://www.seattle.gov/light/FuelMix/ | |
Ross Dam is a 540-foot (160 m)-high, 1,300-foot (400 m)-long concrete thin arch dam across the Skagit River, forming Ross Lake. The dam is in Washington state, while Ross Lake extends 23 miles (37 km) north to British Columbia, Canada. Both dam and reservoir are located in Ross Lake National Recreation Area, is bordered on both sides by Stephen Mather Wilderness and combined with Lake Chelan National Recreation Area they make up North Cascades National Park Complex.
Built as part of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project by Seattle City Light, the dam is part of a series of three dams through the Skagit Gorge that were built primarily to generate hydroelectricity from the massive elevation drop of over 1,000 feet (300 m) from the Canada-U.S. border to Newhalem. The other two dams are Diablo Dam, directly below Ross Dam, and Gorge Dam, further downstream. Ross Dam can generate up to 460 MW of electricity.