Depth of John Day Dam pool is illustrated by this 1967 photo showing the new UPRR bridge, with old bridges at sites to be submerged below.
The dam and vicinity, taken from the International Space Station on July 4, 2022
Cropped view of the dam on July 4, 2022
| John Day Dam | |
|---|---|
 John Day Dam | |
| Location | Sherman County, Oregon / Klickitat County, Washington United States |
| Coordinates | 45°42′59″N120°41′40″W / 45.71639°N 120.69444°W |
| Construction began | 1958 [1] |
| Opening date | 1971 |
| Construction cost | US$511 million |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Concrete gravity, run-of-the-river |
| Impounds | Columbia River |
| Height | 56 m (184 ft) |
| Length | 2,327 m (7,635 ft) |
| Spillway type | Service, gate-controlled |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Umatilla |
| Total capacity | 2,530,000 acre⋅ft (3.12×109 m3) |
| Power Station | |
| Operator(s) | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Type | Run-of-the-river |
| Turbines | 16 × 140 MW (20 maximum) |
| Installed capacity | 2,240 MW (2700 maximum) |
| Annual generation | 8,418 GWh (2009) [2] |
The John Day Dam is a concrete gravity run-of-the-river dam spanning the Columbia River in the northwestern United States. [3] The dam features a navigation lock plus fish ladders on both sides. The John Day Lock has the highest lift (at 110 feet or 34 meters) of any U.S. lock. [4] The reservoir impounded by the dam is Lake Umatilla, [5] and it runs 76.4 miles (123.0 km) up the river channel to the foot of the McNary Dam. John Day Dam is part of the Columbia River Basin system of dams.
