Spokane Falls | |
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Stluputqu | |
Location | Spokane, Washington, United States |
Coordinates | 47°39′42.6″N117°25′28.4″W / 47.661833°N 117.424556°W |
Elevation | 1771 ft |
Watercourse | Spokane River |
Spokane Falls is the name of a waterfall and dam on the Spokane River, located in the central business district in downtown Spokane, Washington. The city of Spokane was also initially named "Spokane Falls".
The Native American name for the Spokane Falls was "Stluputqu", meaning "swift water". The falls was once the site of a large Spokane people village. [1]
The falls consists of the Upper Falls and the Lower Falls. The area around the falls was formerly a rail yard, that was converted to a city park for use as the fairgrounds for the 1974 World's Fair. The park is located predominantly on Havermale Island, the east-most boundary is established by the first fork in the river. This is the site of the Upper Falls Dam, a diversion dam constructed in 1920 that directs the water into the Upper Falls intake on the south channel of the Spokane River. The Upper Falls Power Plant incorporates a Francis turbine capable of generating 10 MW.
The water not diverted to the south fork by the dam flows over the Upper Falls. The north fork of the river splits again at Salmon People Island and flows over the two Upper Falls on either side of the island. The north fork converges again after the Upper Falls, and is also rejoined by the diverted south fork (through the outlet on the Upper Falls Intake).
The Lower Falls is the site of a second diversion dam, the Monroe Street Dam. Completed in 1890, it was the first dam built on the Spokane River and is currently the longest-running hydroelectric generation facility in Washington state. Its Kaplan turbine has a generating capacity of 14.82 MW.
Both Upper Falls and Lower Falls dams are operated by the power company Avista.
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Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerhouses. The third powerhouse ("Nat"), completed in 1974 to increase energy production, makes Grand Coulee the largest power station in the United States by nameplate capacity at 6,809 MW.
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Noxon Rapids Dam is an earthfill gravity-type hydroelectric dam on the Clark Fork river, in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Montana.
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The Lowell Power Canal System is the largest power canal system in the United States, at 5.6 miles in length. It is operating through six major canals on two levels, controlled by numerous gates. The system was begun in the 1790s, beginning its life as a transportation canal called the Pawtucket Canal, which was constructed to get logs from New Hampshire down the Merrimack River to shipbuilding centers at Newburyport, Massachusetts, bypassing the 30-plus-foot drop of the Pawtucket Falls.
Hardy Dam is an earth-filled embankment dam and powerplant complex on the Muskegon River in Big Prairie Township, Newaygo County, Michigan. At the time of its completion, it was the largest earthen dam in North America east of the Mississippi. Its impoundment forms a lake with over 50 miles of shoreline. The dam impounds a reservoir with a surface area of 4,000 acres and its power plant has an installed capacity of 31.5 MW.
Holter Dam is a hydroelectric straight gravity dam on the Missouri River about 45 miles (72 km) northeast of Helena, Montana, in the United States. The dam, which was built between 1908 and 1918, is 1,364 feet (416 m) long and 124 feet (38 m) high. The reservoir formed by the dam, Holter Lake is 25 miles (40 km) long and has a storage capacity of 243,000 acre-feet (300,000,000 m3) of water when full. The dam is a "run-of-the-river" dam because it can generate electricity without needing to store additional water supplies behind the dam.
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Long Lake Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Spokane River, between Lincoln County and Stevens County about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Spokane in eastern Washington. It forms Long Lake (Washington), a 23.5 mi (37.8 km) long reservoir, and has a hydroelectric generating capacity of 71 megawatts. The dam was built by Washington Water Power, which operates five other dams along the Spokane.
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Nine Mile Falls Dam is a dam on the Spokane River, in the unincorporated community of Nine Mile Falls, Washington. It was built on the site of the falls in 1908, creating Nine Mile Reservoir. The dam was designed by the New York engineering firm of Sanderson & Porter, and originally constructed to satisfy the power needs of the Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad interurban trolley lines.
The Upper North Fork Feather River Project is a hydroelectric scheme in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Lassen and Plumas Counties. The project consists of three dams, five power plants, and multiple conduits and tunnels in the headwaters of the North Fork Feather River, a major tributary of the Feather—Sacramento River systems. The total installed capacity is 362.3 megawatts (MW), producing an annual average of 1,171.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). The project is also contracted for the delivery of irrigation water between March 31 and October 31 of each year. The project is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
The Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Plant is located just north of Snoqualmie in King County, Washington state, US. It is situated about 22 mi (35 km) east of Seattle. Located just below the Snoqualmie Falls, the power plant consists of two power houses, Plant 1 and Plant 2. Plant 1 was completed in 1899 and is located underground. It is the first completely underground hydroelectric power plant ever built in the world. Plant 2 was built in 1910 and is located along the right bank of the Snoqualmie River. Both plants receive water from a small reservoir created by a weir atop the falls. Plant 1 has an installed capacity of 13.7 MW and Plant 2 a capacity of 40.2 MW for a total installed capacity of 53.9 MW, enough to power 40,000 homes.
Upper Falls Power Plant is a hydroelectric power plant and dam complex on the Spokane River located in Downtown Spokane, Washington. The facility is located on the Upper Spokane Falls in Riverfront Park where the river splits into three branches around snxw meneɂ and Havermale Island. The power plant was completed in 1922 by Washington Water Power and is still operated by the company's successor, Avista.