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Willow Creek Dam (Montana)

Coordinates: 47°32′48″N 112°25′51″W / 47.54667°N 112.43083°W / 47.54667; -112.43083
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Willow Creek Dam
Willow Creek Dam (Montana) is located in Montana
Willow Creek Dam (Montana)
Location of Willow Creek Dam in Montana
Willow Creek Dam (Montana) is located in the United States
Willow Creek Dam (Montana)
Willow Creek Dam (Montana) (the United States)
CountryUnited States
LocationLewis and Clark County, Montana
Coordinates47°32′48″N 112°25′51″W / 47.54667°N 112.43083°W / 47.54667; -112.43083
Purposeirrigation & flood control
StatusOperational
Construction began1907
Opening date1911
Built byUnited States Bureau of Reclamation
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsWillow Creek
Height93 ft (28 m)
Length650 ft (200 m)
Reservoir
CreatesWillow Creek Reservoir
Total capacity32,400 acre⋅ft (40,000,000 m3)
Surface area1,530 acres (620 ha)
Normal elevation4,150 ft (1,265 m)[1]

Willow Creek Dam (National Inventory of Dams ID MT00577) is a dam in Lewis and Clark County, Montana.

The earthen dam was originally constructed between 1907 and 1911 by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, then modified and reinforced several times since. With a height of 93 feet (28 m) and 650 feet (200 m) long at its crest, it impounds Willow Creek for irrigation storage and flood control, part of the Bureau's larger Sun River Project.[2] The dam is owned and operated by the Bureau.

The reservoir it creates, Willow Creek Reservoir, has a water surface of 1,530 acres (620 ha), another 3,069 acres (1,242 ha) of surrounding land, about 11 miles (18 km) of shoreline, and a maximum capacity of 32,400 acre-feet (40,000,000 m3).[3] Recreation includes fishing (for rainbow trout and kokanee salmon), camping, hunting, boating, and hiking.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Willow Creek Dam (Montana)
  2. ^ "Project details - Sun River Project - Bureau of Reclamation". Archived from the original on 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  3. ^ "Willow Creek Reservoir - Montana".