Jim Falls Hydroelectric Dam | |
---|---|
Location | Chippewa County, Wisconsin, US |
Coordinates | 45°03′04″N91°16′27″W / 45.0512°N 91.2741°W |
Purpose | Hydroelectric power |
Status | Operational |
Opening date | 1923 |
Owner(s) | Northern States Power Company Xcel Energy subsidiary |
Dam and spillways | |
Height | 65 ft (20 m) |
Length | 8,700 ft (2,700 m) |
Spillway type | 13 Tainter gates [1] |
Power Station | |
Operator(s) | Northern States Power Company |
Turbines | 3 Kaplan-type |
Installed capacity | 3x16.2 MW 600 KW spillway |
The Jim Falls Hydroelectric Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Chippewa River by Jim Falls, Wisconsin. It is owned and operated by Xcel Energy. The dam forms Old Abe Lake. It is one of the six hydroelectric dams on the Chippewa River, the others are in Holcombe, Cornell, Wissota, Chippewa Falls, and Eau Claire. [2] [3]
Chippewa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named for the historic Chippewa people, also known as the Ojibwe, who long controlled this territory. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,297. Its county seat is Chippewa Falls. The county was founded in 1845 from Crawford County, then in the Wisconsin Territory, and organized in 1853.
Chippewa Falls is a city located on the Chippewa River in Chippewa County in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 14,778 in the 2021 census. Incorporated as a city in 1869, it is the county seat of Chippewa County.
Lake Holcombe is a town in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Its population was 1,031 at the 2010 census. The census-designated place of Holcombe is located in the town.
Eau Claire is a city in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat of Eau Claire County. It had a population of 69,421 in 2020, making it the state's eighth-most populous city. It is the principal city of the Eau Claire metropolitan area, locally known as the Chippewa Valley, and is also part of the larger Eau Claire–Menomonie combined statistical area.
The St. Croix River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 169 miles (272 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The lower 125 miles (201 km) of the river form the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The river is a National Scenic Riverway under the protection of the National Park Service. A hydroelectric plant at the Saint Croix Falls Dam supplies power to the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area.
The Fox River is a 202-mile-long (325 km) tributary of the Illinois River, flowing from southeastern Wisconsin to Ottawa, Illinois in the United States. The Wisconsin section was known as the Pishtaka River in the 19th century. There is another Fox River in Wisconsin that flows through Lake Winnebago into Green Bay. There are also two other "Fox Rivers" in southern Illinois: the Fox River and a smaller "Fox River" that joins the Wabash River near New Harmony, Indiana.
The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 299 miles (481 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois. The river was known as the Sinnissippi to Sauk and Meskwaki peoples; the name means "rocky waters".
The Fox–Wisconsin Waterway is a waterway formed by the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. First used by European settlers in 1673 during the expedition of Marquette & Joliet, it was one of the principal routes used by travelers between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River until the completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 and the arrival of railroads. The western terminus of the Fox–Wisconsin Waterway was at the Mississippi at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. It continued up the Wisconsin River about 116 miles (187 km) until reaching Portage, Wisconsin. There travelers would portage to the Upper Fox River, or eventually, use the Portage Canal. It continued about 160 miles (260 km) down the Fox River, following it through Lake Winnebago and continuing on the Lower Fox over 170 feet of falls to the eastern terminus of Green Bay.
Lake Wissota is a reservoir in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States, just east of the city of Chippewa Falls. It covers an area of 6,024 acres (2,438 ha) and has a maximum depth of 72 feet (22 m).
The Chippewa River in Wisconsin flows approximately 183 miles (294 km) through west-central and northwestern Wisconsin. It was once navigable for approximately 50 miles (80 km) of its length, from the Mississippi River, by Durand, northeast to Eau Claire. Its catchment defines a portion of the northern boundary of the Driftless Area. The river is easily accessible for bikers and pleasure seekers via the Chippewa River State Trail, which follows the river from Eau Claire to Durand.
The Eau Galle River is a tributary of the Chippewa River in western Wisconsin in the United States. It is about 35 mi (56 km) long. Via the Chippewa River, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.
The Eau Claire metropolitan area refers loosely to the urbanized area along the Chippewa and Eau Claire Rivers, in west-central Wisconsin, with its primary center at Eau Claire and secondary centers at Chippewa Falls and Altoona.
Old Abe State Trail is a 19.5-mile (31.4 km) paved multi-use rail trail in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, USA.
The Flambeau River is a tributary of the Chippewa River in northern Wisconsin, United States. The Chippewa is in turn a tributary of the upper Mississippi River. The Flambeau drains an area of 1,860 square miles (4,800 km2) and descends from an elevation of approximately 1,570 feet (480 m) to 1,060 feet (320 m) above sea level. The Flambeau is an important recreational destination in the region. It is notable among canoeists in the Midwest for outstanding canoe camping, including excellent scenery, fishing and whitewater. The river and its forks have a variety of possible trip lengths from short day outings, to overnight camping, to voyages of a week or more.
Jim Falls is a census-designated place located in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States.
Lake Altoona, is a man-made lake in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States, bordering the city of Altoona, Wisconsin, and to the east of Eau Claire.
Eau Claire Dam is a dam in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States.
The Turtle-Flambeau Flowage is a 12,942 acres (52.37 km2) lake in Iron County, Wisconsin. It has a maximum depth of 15 meters and is the seventh largest lake in the state of Wisconsin by surface area. The flowage is home to unique wetland patterns and plant species as well as several species of sport and game fish, including musky, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and sturgeon. The lake's water clarity is low, but can vary in different locations. Fishing, camping, boating, and hunting are popular activities on the flowage, and Ojibwe people traditionally harvest fish and game on the lake. Environmental concerns on the flowage include mercury contamination, algal blooms, and several types of invasive species.