Garrison Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Missouri River in central North Dakota, U.S.

Constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1947 to 1953, at over in length, the dam is the fifth-largest earthen dam in the world. The reservoir impounded by the dam is Lake Sakakawea, which extends to Williston and the confluence with the Yellowstone River, near the Montana border. The dam and resulting reservoir inundated approximately one-sixth (16.6%) to one-fourth (25%) of Fort Berthold Indian Reservation's land, resulting in the loss of homes, farmland, and community infrastructure for the Three Affiliated Tribes.

Location

Garrison Dam is located between Riverdale and Pick City, and named after the town of Garrison, directly north of the dam, across the reservoir. The dam is approximately midway between Bismarck and Minot, about west of U.S. Highway 83.

History

thumb|left|Dams and reservoirs in the [[Pick–Sloan Missouri Basin Program|Pick–Sloan Program, and affected Indian reservations.]]

The dam was part of a flood control and hydroelectric power generation project named the Pick-Sloan Project along the river, after the two plan developers, Col. Lewis A. Pick and William Glenn Sloan. Local communities in the area had resisted having the dam built at other locations on the river where they would be affected.

In order to construct the dam, the US government needed to purchase of bottomlands in the Fort Berthold Reservation that would be flooded by the creation of Lake Sakakawea. These lands were owned by the Three Affiliated Tribes, and the territory "had been their home for perhaps more than a millennium".

Threatened by confiscation under eminent domain, the tribes protested. A complete block of Garrison Dam power was denied because it would violate the 1935 Rural Electrification Act. The tribes gained remuneration, but lost 94% of their agricultural land

Thus, construction of Garrison Dam almost totally destroyed the traditional way of life for the Three Affiliated Tribes and made them much more dependent on the federal government. In addition, the size of the lake, and the lack of bridges to cross it for decades, disrupted traditional relations among the peoples. It created new divisions among the segments on the reservation. Construction on the $300-million dam project began in 1947, and its embankment was enclosed in April 1953. The dam was dedicated by President Eisenhower two months later. The Corps of Engineers completed earthwork in the fall of 1954. The first use of the emergency spillway due to flooding started on June 1, 2011, at 8:00am.

Energy generation

Hydropower turbines at Garrison Dam have an electric power generating nameplate capacity of 583.3 MW.

A segment of the North Country National Scenic Trail passes through the National Fish Hatchery and includes a stretch along the Missouri River shoreline where trail users are simultaneously on the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail.

See also

  • Lake Sakakawea
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  • Riverdale, North Dakota
  • Lake Audubon
  • List of dams and reservoirs in North Dakota

References

  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Garrison Project
  • North Dakota State Historical Societyl - Finding Aid - The Garrison Dam and Lake Sakakawea
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery
  • Historic American Engineering Record documentation, all filed under Riverdale, McLean County, ND: