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Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir
The Buffalo Bill Dam is across the Shoshone River in the U.S. state of Wyoming, which when first built in 1910 at 325 feet (99 meters) in height, was the tallest dam in the world. Then, in the years between 1920 and 1994, several changes and improvements were added to the structure including: a 25-foot (7.6 m) extension to the structure and its support facilities, two full time power generators, two seasonal operations and a 2.8-mile (4.5 km) irrigation tunnel completed in 1939.
The dam is located in Shoshone Canyon, and named after the famous Wild West figure William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, who founded the nearby town of Cody and owned much of the land now covered by the reservoir waters formed by its construction. It is part of the Shoshone Project, successor to several visionary schemes promoted by Cody to irrigate the Bighorn Basin and turn it from a semi-arid sagebrush-covered plain to productive agricultural land. Known at the time of its construction as Shoshone Dam, the name was changed to Buffalo Bill Dam in order to honor William Cody.
Description:
The Buffalo Bill Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam, spanning across the gorge 70 feet (21 m) wide at the base and 200 feet (61 m) wide at the crest, with an original height of 325 feet (99 m), extended 25 feet (7.6 m) between 1985 and 1992. The concrete structure measures 108 feet (33 m) deep (or thick) at the base, tapering to 10 feet (3.0 m) thick at the crest, with a volume of 82,900 cubic yards (63,400 m3) of concrete. The structure of the dam is anchored into Pre-Cambrian granitic rock on either side. The spillway is an uncontrolled overflow weir on the south side, 298 feet (91 m) wide, which drops through a tunnel in the south abutment.
Buffalo Bill Dam & Reservoir Information:
Reservoir:
Reservoir Type:
Concrete Dammed Reservoir
Impounds:
Shoshone River
Reservoir Capacity:
869,230 acre-feet
Primary Inflow:
North Fork Shoshone River
Primary Inflow:
South Fork Shoshone River
Primary Outflow:
Shoshone River
Lake Measurements:
Surface Area:
8,315 acres
Deepest Depth:
157 feet
Dam Structure:
Built:
1905-1910
Height:
350 feet (110 meters)
Width:
(Concrete thickness)
Crest:
10 feet
Base:
200 feet
Spillway Type:
Concrete Lined Tunnel through south abutment
Spillway Compacity:
84,725 cubic feet per second
Location:
Coordinates:
Outflow Location:
(44.5014663, -109.1830560)
Inflow Location:
North Fork: 44.4826854, -109.3309047
Inflow Location:
Sourth Fork: 44.4326904, -109.2530816
Surface Elevation:
5393.5 feet
top of the active conservation pool.
Geographical Information:
Geographical Region:
Rocky Mountains
The Ancients
The Earth
The Modern Man
The Steps
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