List of flooded towns in the United States

Last updated

These are U.S. towns and villages flooded by the creation of dams, destroyed by the advancing sea, or washed away in floods and never rebuilt.

Contents


Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Kentucky

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Missouri

Mississippi

Montana

Nevada

New York

North Carolina

New Jersey

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Washington

West Virginia

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost town</span> Abandoned settlement with intact features

A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed or ended for any reason. The town may have also declined because of natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, prolonged droughts, extreme heat or extreme cold, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, pollution, or nuclear and radiation-related accidents and incidents. The term can sometimes refer to cities, towns, and neighborhoods that, though still populated, are significantly less so than in past years; for example, those affected by high levels of unemployment and dereliction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowlitz River</span> River in Washington, United States

The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnstown Flood</span> Massive flood off Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1889

The Johnstown Flood, sometimes referred to locally as Great Flood of 1889, occurred on Friday, May 31, 1889, after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam, located on the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River, 14 miles (23 km) upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States. The dam ruptured after several days of extremely heavy rainfall, releasing 14.55 million cubic meters of water. With a volumetric flow rate that temporarily equaled the average flow rate of the Mississippi River, the flood killed 2,208 people and accounted for US$17,000,000 in damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quabbin Reservoir</span> Massachusetts reservoir which serves the Boston area

The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, United States, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, 65 miles (105 km) to the east, and 40 other cities and towns in Greater Boston. The Quabbin also supplies water to three towns west of the reservoir and acts as backup supply for three others. By 1989, it supplied water for 2.5 million people, about 40% of the state's population at the time. It has an aggregate capacity of 412 billion US gallons (1,560 GL) and an area of 38.6 square miles (99.9 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shasta Dam</span> Dam in California, US

Shasta Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam across the Sacramento River in Northern California in the United States. At 602 feet (183 m) high, it is the eighth-tallest dam in the United States. Located at the north end of the Sacramento Valley, Shasta Dam creates Shasta Lake for long-term water storage, flood control, hydroelectricity and protection against the intrusion of saline water. The largest reservoir in the state, Shasta Lake can hold about 4,500,000 acre-feet (5,600 GL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pick–Sloan Missouri Basin Program</span> Flood control

The Pick–Sloan Missouri Basin Program, formerly called the Missouri River Basin Project, was initially authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944, which approved the plan for the conservation, control, and use of water resources in the Missouri River Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shasta Lake</span> Reservoir behind Shasta Dam in California, United States

Shasta Lake, also popularly known as Lake Shasta, is a reservoir in Shasta County, California, United States. It began to store water in 1944 due to the impounding of the Sacramento River by Shasta Dam, the ninth tallest dam in the United States.

Greenwich was a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The town was lost as a result of the formation of the Quabbin Reservoir in order to supply Boston's growing water needs.

Livermore, Pennsylvania is an abandoned town that was located on the Conemaugh River between Blairsville and Saltsburg in Derry Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The town was abandoned and partially razed in the early 1950s following authorization by the Flood Control Act of 1936 and Flood Control Act of 1938 for construction of the Conemaugh Dam and Lake to prevent flooding of Pittsburgh. Much of the former town site now lies under the reservoir and floodplains.

Camanche is a former settlement in Calaveras County, California, United States. Located at an elevation of 220 feet, the town was once called Limerick, before it was renamed to Camanche in 1849. The settlement of Camanche is now submerged under Camanche Reservoir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guntersville Dam</span> Dam in Alabama, United States

Guntersville Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Marshall County, in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is one of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the late 1930s as part of a New Deal era initiative to create a continuous navigation channel on the entire length of the river and bring flood control and economic development to the region. The dam impounds the Guntersville Lake of 67,900 acres (27,500 ha), and its tailwaters feed into Wheeler Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashokan Reservoir</span> New York City reservoir in Catskill Mountains

The Ashokan Reservoir is a reservoir in Ulster County, New York. It is at the eastern end of the Catskill Park, and is one of several in the region created to provide the City of New York with water. It is the city's deepest reservoir at 190 feet (58 m) near the dam at the former site of Bishop Falls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkabutla Lake</span> Reservoir in Mississippi, United States

Arkabutla Lake is a reservoir on the Coldwater River in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It was created following the construction of the Arkabutla Dam in 1940 on the Coldwater River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown's Station, New York</span> Village in United States of America

Brown's Station was a hamlet in the Esopus Valley of southeastern Ulster County, New York, United States. It was submerged by the waters of the Ashokan Reservoir, an artificial lake built between 1906 and 1915 to supply fresh water to New York City.

Floods in the United States before 1900 is a list of flood events that were of significant impact to the country, before 1900. Floods are generally caused by excessive rainfall, excessive snowmelt, and dam failure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riffe Lake</span> Reservoir in Washington, United States

Riffe Lake is a long reservoir on the Cowlitz River in the U.S. state of Washington. The 23.5 mi (38 km) lake was created by the construction of Mossyrock Dam, the tallest dam in the state, in 1968 by Tacoma City Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camanche Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Amador, Calaveras and San Joaquin counties

Camanche Reservoir is an artificial lake in the San Joaquin Valley in California in the United States, at the juncture of Amador, Calaveras, and San Joaquin counties. Its waters are impounded by Camanche Dam, which was completed in 1963. Camanche Reservoir is a source of water for industrial and municipal purposes and also provides flood control.

Potosí was a Venezuelan town in the western state of Táchira. The town was deliberately flooded by the Venezuelan government in 1985 to build a hydroelectric dam. In 2010, the town was uncovered for the first time since its flooding due to a drought caused by the weather phenomenon El Niño.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camanche Dam</span> Dam in San Joaquin County, California

Camanche Dam is an earthfill Dam on the Mokelumne River in the central California, about 20 mi (32 km) from East Lodi. The dam and reservoir lie in the Sierra Nevada foothills in San Joaquin County. Construction of Camanche Dam was started in 1963 and completed in 1964. East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) owns and operates it. The purpose of Camanche Dam and reservoir is to provide flood control, water flows for agriculture, habitat for fisheries and recreation for community.

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