North Fork Dam (Clackamas County, Oregon)

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North Fork Dam
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Location of North Fork Dam in Oregon
CountryUnited States
Location Clackamas, Oregon
Coordinates 45°14′36″N122°16′47″W / 45.24333°N 122.27972°W / 45.24333; -122.27972 Coordinates: 45°14′36″N122°16′47″W / 45.24333°N 122.27972°W / 45.24333; -122.27972

The North Fork Dam is on the Clackamas River, about five miles upriver from Estacada, Oregon. [1] It was built in 1958. [1] The North Fork Reservoir is behind it.

Clackamas River tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon

The Clackamas River is an approximately 83-mile (134 km) tributary of the Willamette River in northwestern Oregon, in the United States. Draining an area of about 940 square miles (2,435 km2), the Clackamas flows through mostly forested and rugged mountainous terrain in its upper reaches, and passes agricultural and urban areas in its lower third. The river rises in eastern Marion County, about 55 miles (89 km) east-southeast of Salem. The headwaters are on the slopes of Olallie Butte in the Mount Hood National Forest, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Mount Jefferson, at an elevation of 4,909 feet (1,496 m) in the Cascade Range. The Clackamas flows briefly north and then flows northwest through the mountains, passing through North Fork Reservoir and Estacada. It then emerges from the mountains southeast of Portland. It joins the Willamette near Oregon City and forms the boundary between Oregon City and Gladstone.

Estacada, Oregon City in Oregon, United States

Estacada is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Portland. The population was 2,695 at the 2010 census.

North Fork Reservoir (Clackamas County, Oregon) in Clackamas County

North Fork Reservoir is a reservoir behind North Fork Dam, on the Clackamas River, upriver from Estacada. It is found at an elevation of 666 feet (203 m).

Contents

Construction

It is a concrete arched dam, 206 feet high and 676 feet long, [1] is thin-shell of variable thickness. It varies in thickness from 32 feet at the base to 8 feet wide at the top. [1]

The fish ladder

North Fork's construction entailed the building of the 1.9-mile-long North Fork Fish Ladder, one of the longest in the world. [2] It also required a complex system to provide for downstream fish passage around the dam.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "North Fork Dam and Powerhouse". The Oregon Encyclopedia . Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  2. "North Fork Fish Ladder". The Oregon Encyclopedia . Retrieved 3 January 2016.