Missouri River basin project
Missouri River basin project,
comprehensive plan authorized in 1944 for the coordinated development of water resources of the MissouriMissouri,river, c.2,565 mi (4,130 km) long (including its Jefferson-Beaverhead-Red Rock headstream), the longest river of the United States and the principal tributary of the Mississippi River.
..... Click the link for more information. River and its tributaries, draining an area of c.513,300 sq mi (1,329,400 sq km) in Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Iowa, and Minnesota. The program provided for the construction of 112 dams with a storage capacity of almost 35 million gal/132 million liters; 4,300,000 acres (1,740,000 hectares) of irrigated land; 2.6 million kilowatts of hydroelectric generating capacity; a 9-ft (2.7-m) navigable channel on the Missouri River from Sioux City to its mouth; control of floods and sedimentation; protection of fish and wildlife; and development of recreational facilities and industrial and municipal water supplies. Seven main-stem dams on the Missouri were completed (Fort PeckFort Peck Dam,
21,430 ft (6,531 m) long and 250 ft (76 m) high, on the Missouri River, NE Mont.; one of the world's largest earth-filled dams. The dam was built (1933–40) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a flood-control and navigation-improvement project.
..... Click the link for more information. , GarrisonGarrison Dam,
c.11,300 ft (3,400 m) long and 210 ft (64 m) high, on the Missouri River, near Riverdale, W central N.Dak.; one of the world's largest earth-filled dams used for irrigation power. Built by the U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. , OaheOahe Dam
, major unit of the Missouri River basin project, 242 ft (74 m) high and 9,360 ft (2,853 m) long, on the Missouri River, central S.Dak., near Pierre; built 1948–63 by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. The reservoir impounded by the dam extends c.
..... Click the link for more information. , Big Bend, Fort Randall, Gavins Point, and Canyon Ferry), and 80 other dams were built on tributaries. The program has been modified and expanded over the years and is integrated with other projects for the region, including the Colorado–Big Thompson projectColorado–Big Thompson project,
constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to divert water from the headstreams of the Colorado River to irrigate c.720,000 acres (291,400 hectares) of land in NE Colorado and to supply power; built 1938–56.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Shoshone projectShoshone project,
NW Wyo., near the Mont. line and in the Shoshone River basin. Developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, it irrigates a large portion of land and has four divisions.
..... Click the link for more information. , and the North Platte projectNorth Platte project,
unit of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, in the North Platte River valley, W Nebr. and E Wyo. It supplies hydroelectric power to many towns and industries and provides irrigation for land extending along the valley from Guernsey, Wyo.
..... Click the link for more information. . Although the project created a navigation channel on the lower Missouri, the fish and wildlife there were greatly reduced.