| Jones Falls Dam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Canada |
| Location | Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario |
| Status | Operational |
Jones Falls Dam is a dam on the Rideau Canal located in Rideau Lakes, Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario, Canada, that was built between 1828 and 1831 to tame the mile-long series of rapids and falls that flowed from Sand Lake and into the White Fish River (now drowned).
The dam, designed by the British Royal Engineers under the direction of Lt. Colonel John By, was built by crews working for contractor John Redpath. It was built by hand, with the assistance of a few draft animals. When completed in late 1831, the Jones Falls dam was the highest dam in North America, a major accomplishment of early 19th century engineering. The dam was built at the head of a bedrock canyon, located part way up the rapids, a location that allowed the arch shape of the stonework of the dam to lock into the bedrock of the canyon walls. The dam has three main components: 1) the keywork, the dressed (shaped) stones that form the backing of the dam, 2) an impermeable layer placed in front of the keywork and 3) the dam apron that protects the front of the dam. [1]
The stones, large blocks of Potsdam sandstone, were quarried 9 km (5.6 mi) away, in a quarry located just outside of present day Elgin. In 1827, a road was built from the quarry to Jones Falls, in order to haul the stones to be used for the dam and the locks. Rough cut stones from the quarry were hauled to the site where the Master mason would direct his masons to do the finishing work. The stones were lifted into place using metal tongs (very large timber tongs) attached to a block and tackle hung from a tripod. The dimples in the stones for those tongs can still be seen in the original stones today.
The stonework for the dam is about 8.2 m (27 ft) thick at the base of the dam, tapering to 3.7 m (12 ft) at the top. The stonework is 17.3 m (57 ft) high from its bedrock foundation. An earthen berm on the top of the dam adds about another 1.2 m (3 ft) in height, making the total height, from base of foundation to top, about 18.3 m (60 ft). The backing face of the dam is set back on about a 1:10 incline [2]
In front of the stones is a 1.5 m (5 ft) thick impermeable layer made up of grouted broken stone, which is small angular stone set in hydraulic cement. Normally clay puddle would have been used to form this impermeable layer, but clay of suitable quality ran out early during construction, and grouted broken stone was used as a substitute.
The apron for the dam extends out about 50 m (160 ft). It was created by hauling rubbish (earth) material using horse drawn carts from a location just to the west of the dam.
The dam was built with the aid of sluiceways in the dam to allow the river to flow through the dam during construction. The first sluiceway was near the base of the dam on the east side. The second was about 6 m (20 ft) above the base on the west side of the dam. A coffer dam located near the head of rapids was used to block off the rapids until each sluiceway could be sealed up. A deep waste water weir, its channel blasted through a bedrock ridge to the south of the dam, allowed the top of the dam to be completed.
When completed, the dam raised the water in its location by 13.7 m (45 ft), putting a navigation depth of water into the upper sill of the top lock at Jones Falls and also into the lower sill of Davis Lock, at the head of Sand Lake, which was raised by 2.4 m (8 ft) due to the dam at Jones Falls. [3] Typical of most of the Rideau Canal locks, those locks were built "in the dry" - above the pre-existing water level. It was the completion of the dam that created a navigation depth of flooding into those locks.
The dam is approximately 350 feet (107 m) long (the length of the arch at the top), 60 feet (18 m) high and 27 feet (8 m) thick at the base. The base (canyon wall to canyon wall) is 100 feet (30 m) long. [4]
The Jones Falls Great Arch Dam is also known as the Whispering Dam since the shape of the stone face of the dam allows sound to travel along the face. Someone speaking in normal conversation tone at one end of the dam can be heard by someone standing at the other end.
This, (and some other smaller dams on the Rideau Canal) may be the only vertically coursed stone arch dams in the world.
The Rideau Canal is a 202 kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River, at Ottawa, with the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 metres upstream along the Rideau River to the Rideau Lakes, and from there drop 50 metres downstream along the Cataraqui River to Kingston.
The Cataraqui River forms the lower portion of the Rideau Canal and drains into Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario. The name is taken from the original name for Kingston, Ontario; its exact meaning, however, is undetermined. Early maps showed several name variations including the Great Cataraqui River and Grand River Cataraquay. The river was once called Riviere de Frontenac, or Frontenac River. The alternate spelling "Cadaraqui" also appears in some historic texts.
The St. Marys River, sometimes written St. Mary's River, drains Lake Superior, starting at the end of Whitefish Bay and flowing 74.5 miles (119.9 km) southeast into Lake Huron, with a fall of 23 feet (7.0 m). For its entire length it is an international border, separating Michigan in the United States from Ontario, Canada.
The Genesee River is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Rochester.
Lieutenant-Colonel John By was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was designated as the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
The Cascades Rapids were an area of rapids along North America's Columbia River, between the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. Through a stretch approximately 150 yards (140 m) wide, the river dropped about 40 feet (12 m) in 2 miles (3.2 km). These rapids or cascades, along with the many cascades along the Columbia River Gorge in this area of Oregon and Washington, gave rise to the name for the surrounding mountains: the Cascade Range.
The Gananoque River is a river in Leeds and Grenville United Counties in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river is in the Atlantic Ocean drainage basin and is a left tributary of the Saint Lawrence River.
Watson's Mill is an historic flour and gristmill in Manotick, Ontario, Canada. It is the only working museum in the Ottawa area and one of the very few operating industrial grist mills in North America. Watson's Mill still sells stone-ground whole wheat flour which is made on site. The mill is also well known for its ghost Annabelle. The legend is that Ann Currier, wife of Joseph, haunts the mill, following her death in a tragic accident there in 1861. Watson's Mill is Manotick's most recognized landmark. Its image is used as a symbol for the village.
Enfield Falls Canal is a canal that was built to circumvent the shallows at Enfield Falls on the Connecticut River, between Hartford, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts. It is situated along the west side of the river, adjacent to the towns of Suffield and Windsor Locks in Hartford County in the state of Connecticut, United States. Windsor Locks is named after the series of locks on the canal.
The Willamette Falls Locks are a lock system on the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Opened in 1873 and closed since 2011, they allowed boat traffic on the Willamette to navigate beyond Willamette Falls and the T.W. Sullivan Dam. Since their closure in 2011 the locks are classified to be in a "non-operational status" and are expected to remain permanently closed.
Rideau Lakes is a township located within Leeds and Grenville United Counties in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The township was incorporated on 1 January 1998 by amalgamating the former townships of North Crosby, South Crosby, Bastard, South Burgess and South Elmsley with the village of Newboro.
Merrickville–Wolford is a village-status municipality in Eastern Ontario, Canada, located in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. It spans both shores of the Rideau River.
The North Canal Historic District of Lawrence, Massachusetts, encompasses the historic industrial heart of the city. It is centered on the North Canal and the Great Stone Dam, which provided the waterpower for its many mill complexes. The canal was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, while the district was first listed in 1984, and then expanded slightly in 2009.
The Plaza Bridge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is an automotive and pedestrian bridge that crosses the Rideau Canal just south of the Ottawa locks. It joins Wellington Street and Elgin Street in the Downtown core to the west with Rideau Street to the east. The Chateau Laurier abuts the bridge at the east end, while Parliament Hill is just beyond the west end. It is the northernmost bridge over the canal, just north of the Mackenzie King Bridge.
The Carillon Canal is a National Historic Site of Canada in Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, Quebec. It preserves the historic Carillon Canal that was first built in the 1830s to facilitate travel on the Ottawa River. It is a prominent heritage site and recreation area, visited annually by 20,000 pleasure boaters and 30,000 people who use its riverside park.
The Tay Canal is the portion of the Tay River in the eastern Ontario region, providing a connection between the town of Perth and the Rideau Canal at Beveridge Bay on Lower Rideau Lake. The canal is 9.8 km (6.1 mi) in length and is operated today by Parks Canada as part of their Rideau Canal operations. At the entrance to the Tay Canal are two locks, Upper and Lower Beveridge Locks, which provide a total lift of 7.6 m (25 ft).
Kingston Mills, located approximately 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of downtown Kingston, Ontario, is the southernmost lockstation and one of 24 lockstations of the Rideau Canal system. Kingston Mills is a component of the Rideau Canal National Historic Site, and along with the rest of the Rideau Canal, is a World Heritage Site. The site is managed and operated by Parks Canada.
Hog's Back Road is a 1 km (0.62 mi) road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The road connects Meadowlands Drive and Prince of Wales Drive to Riverside Drive and Brookfield Road. The road is used as the boundary line between Mooney's Bay Park and Hog's Back Park. It goes over the dam creating Mooney's Bay and Hog's Back Falls, and continues over the Hog's Back swing bridge over the Rideau Canal, to allow taller boats navigating the canal to pass. The road also runs past the spot where the Rideau Canal separates from the Rideau River.
Ripogenus Gorge is a rock-walled canyon formed where the West Branch Penobscot River crosses the Caribou Lake anticline. Ripogenus Falls controlled discharge from Ripogenus Lake until Ripogenus Dam was completed at the upstream end of the gorge in 1916. The dam forms a hydroelectric reservoir raising the level of Ripogenus Lake to include the upstream Chesuncook Lake, Caribou Lake, and Moose Pond. The resulting reservoir is often identified by the name of the largest included lake: Chesuncook. The gorge provides an unusual exposure of Maine North Woods bedrock typically covered by saturated glacial till. The Silurian Ripogenus Formation of weakly metamorphosed shallow marine siliciclastics and fossiliferous limestone has been described from investigation of the gorge.
Sand Lake is a lake on the Rideau Canal, located in the Township of Rideau Lakes, Ontario, Canada, in the ward of South Crosby. It is 891 hectares in surface area, with a maximum depth of 14.3 metres (47 ft) and a shore length of 65.5 kilometres (41 mi)