FDR

Norris Dam impounds the Clinch River, a mountain tributary of the Tennessee River. The facility stands as a tribute and symbol of the birth of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Given broad jurisdiction over resource development in the watershed (a 40,000-square-mile basin comprising parts of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee), the TVA was formed to plan for flood control, improve navigation, and produce hydroelectric power. As the first completed project of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Norris Dam launched one of America's great political experiments. It provided the model for many of the TVA's policies and procedures, which would aid in the success of the agency's many future projects.

Grand Coulee Dam

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 07:39:24 +0000

Grand Coulee Dam

(not verified) Wed, 07/25/2012 - 03:39

Society

Main Category

Sub Category

Era

Date Created

Location Country

Coordinates

47.955833, -118.981667

Address1

Columbia River

Address2

Lake Roosevelt National Rec Area

City

Grand Coulee

State

Country

USA

Zip

99133

Website

http://www.asce.org/Project/Grand-Coulee-Dam/

Creator

Bureau of Reclamation

The massive Grand Coulee Dam, on the Columbia River, is the largest concrete structure in the U.S., the largest hydroelectric facility in the U.S., and the sixth-largest hydroelectric facility in the world. It provides irrigation for up to 1.1 million acres of agricultural lands and the hydroelectric complex maintains a generating capacity of 6.8 million kilowatts. It also serves as the primary flood control for the Columbia River basin (with a capacity of 5.18 million acre-feet of water) and provides recreational opportunities on the 150-mile-long Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake. It is the uppermost of 11 dams that comprise the Columbia River Basin Project.

Grand Coulee Dam was critical to the war efforts during World War II, generating abundant electrical power that was crucial for aluminum production for war machinery.

Resource

Murray Cromwell Morgan, The Dam (New York: Viking Press, 1954).

Fort Peck Dam

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 07:39:17 +0000

Fort Peck Dam

(not verified) Wed, 07/25/2012 - 03:39

Society

Main Category

Sub Category

Era

Date Created

Location Country

Coordinates

48.002778, -106.416111

Address1

Missouri River

Address2

Montana 24

City

Fort Peck

State

Country

USA

Zip

59248

Website

http://www.asce.org/Project/Fort-Peck-Dam/

Creator

Works Progress Administration

The Fort Peck Dam was a cornerstone project of the Works Progress Administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. It required the largest construction plant and workforce since the construction of the Panama Canal and peaked at 11,000 workers. It was the largest dam of any type in the world for over 30 years.

The record-setting, hydraulic-fill structure required the excavation of over 126 million cubic yards of earthfill, mixing the excavated soil with water and transporting the fluidized material to the dam site. Its steel sheetpile foundations, installed to control water seeping through the earth under the dam, extended to a record depth of 163 feet.