Tippy Dam

Last updated
Tippy Dam
Tippy Dam (July 2017).jpg
Tippy Dam (July 2017)
Relief map of USA Michigan.png
Red pog.svg
Location within the state Michigan
Location Dickson Township, Manistee County, Michigan
Coordinates 44°15′36″N85°56′25″W / 44.26009°N 85.94014°W / 44.26009; -85.94014
Opening date1918
Dam and spillways
Impounds Manistee River

Tippy Dam or Tippy Hydro was built in 1918, and is a hydroelectric dam operated by Consumers Energy. The original name of the dam was Junction Hydro, but it was renamed to honor a Consumers board of directors member, Charles W. Tippy. The dam spans the Manistee River about 170 miles west from its headwaters, and approximately 20 miles east of its mouth with Lake Michigan, which includes Manistee Lake in Manistee as well. [1]

Contents

Recreation uses

Tippy Dam State Recreation Area is managed and operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as a state park. Just below Tippy Dam is one of the finest trout, steelhead, and salmon fishing areas in Michigan. During the fall salmon run anglers line the banks shoulder to shoulder trying to catch king salmon that can weigh well over 20 pounds.

Environmental

The hydro spillway chamber at Tippy is used by about 24,600 bats during the summer for roosting, swarming in the fall, and hibernation in the winter.

Statistics

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Au Sable River (Michigan)</span> River in Michigan, United States

The Au Sable River in Michigan, United States runs approximately 138 miles (222 km) through the northern Lower Peninsula, through the towns of Grayling and Mio, and enters Lake Huron at the town of Oscoda. It is considered one of the best brown trout fisheries east of the Rockies and has been designated a blue ribbon trout stream by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. A map from 1795 located in the United States Gazetteer calls it the Beauais River. In French, the river is called the Rivière au sable, literally "Sand River".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)</span> Tributary of Lake Michigan in Michigan and Indiana

The St. Joseph River is a tributary of Lake Michigan with a length of 206 miles (332 km). The river flows in a generally westerly direction through southern Michigan and northern Indiana, United States, to its terminus on the southeast shore of the lake. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan. It was enormously important to Native Americans and greatly aided in the colonial exploration, settlement and administration of New France and the nascent United States as a canoe route between Lake Michigan and the watershed of the Mississippi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dalles Dam</span> US hydroelectric dam on the Columbia River

The Dalles Lock and Dam is a concrete-gravity run-of-the-river dam spanning the Columbia River, two miles (3 km) east of the city of The Dalles, Oregon, United States. It joins Wasco County, Oregon with Klickitat County, Washington, 192 miles (309 km) upriver from the mouth of the Columbia near Astoria, Oregon. The closest towns on the Washington side are Dallesport and Wishram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Oroville</span> Reservoir in Butte County, California, U.S.

Lake Oroville is a reservoir formed by the Oroville Dam impounding the Feather River, located in Butte County, northern California. The lake is situated 5 miles (8 km) northeast of the city of Oroville, within the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Known as the second-largest reservoir in California, Lake Oroville is treated as a keystone facility within the California State Water Project by storing water, providing flood control, recreation, freshwater releases to assist in controlling the salinity intrusion into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and protecting fish and wildlife.

Sanford Lake was a man-made reservoir located in Midland County, Michigan, but is no longer present since the failure of the dam in May 2020. It was formed by the damming of the Tittabawassee River near the village of Sanford, Michigan. It was built for flood control and the production of hydroelectric power. The dam is owned and operated by the Four Lakes Task Force, a property owners' group that was established by the Midland and Gladwin County boards of commissioners to oversee the dams and the impoundment lakes created by them, who took over ownership as a condition of the settlement agreement that resulted from the condemnation proceedings with former dam owner, Boyce Hydro, LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consumers Energy</span> American public utility

Consumers Energy is an investor owned utility that provides natural gas and electricity to 6.7 million of Michigan's 10 million residents. It serves customers in all 68 of the state's Lower Peninsula counties. It is the primary subsidiary of CMS Energy. The company was founded in 1886 and is currently headquartered in Jackson, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jindabyne Dam</span> Dam in Snowy Mountains, New South Wales

Jindabyne Dam is a major ungated rockfill embankment dam across the Snowy River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is to redirect water from the Snowy River to the Murray, for the generation of hydro-power and irrigation. It is one of the sixteen major dams that comprise the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run by Snowy Hydro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manistee River</span> River in Northwest lower Michigan

The Manistee River, seldom referred to as the Big Manistee River, runs 190 miles (310 km) through the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan; it now passes through the contemporary villages of Sharon, Smithville, and Mesick, entering Lake Michigan at Manistee. It is considered, like the nearby Au Sable River, to be one of the best trout fisheries east of the Rockies. The Manistee River is also being considered for restoration of Arctic grayling, which have been extirpated from the State of Michigan since 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Condit Hydroelectric Project</span> Former dam in Washington, United States

Condit Hydroelectric Project was a development on the White Salmon River in the U.S. state of Washington. It was completed in 1913 to provide electrical power for local industry, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an engineering and architecture landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Sinclair</span> Reservoir in Georgia, US

Lake Sinclair is a man-made lake in central Georgia near Eatonton. It is operated by Georgia Power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Natoma</span> Reservoir in Sacramento County, California

Lake Natoma is a small lake in the Western United States, along the lower American River, between Folsom and Nimbus Dams in Sacramento County, California. The lake is located within the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area which maintains the facilities and bike trails surrounding the lake. Lake Natoma is located 15 miles (24 km) east of Sacramento, and has 500 surface acres of water. The total length of lake Natoma is 4 miles (6.4 km).

The O'Shaughnessy Dam is located on the Scioto River near Dublin, Ohio, United States. The dam forms O'Shaughnessy Reservoir, which is a major source of drinking water for the city of Columbus. It was completed in 1925 following recommendations of then superintendent Jerry O'Shaughnessy. At the time, the reservoir was described as "the finest inland waterway in the United States." Located 10 miles (16 km) upstream of the smaller Griggs Dam, it provides a large area for various forms of recreation in addition to its water supply duties. The reservoir holds 6.3 billion US gallons (24,000,000 m3) over a surface area of 845 acres (3.42 km2). The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is located on the east bank of the reservoir, near the dam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost Creek Lake</span> Reservoir in Jackson County, Oregon

Lost Creek Lake is a reservoir located on the Rogue River in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. The lake is impounded by William L. Jess Dam which was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1977 for flood control and fisheries enhancement. The lake and dam were the first completed elements of the multi-purpose Rogue River Basin Project, consisting of Lost Creek Lake, Applegate Lake and the Elk Creek project. The lake is located approximately 27 miles (43 km) northeast of Medford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croton Dam (Michigan)</span> Dam in Newaygo County, Michigan

Croton Dam is an earth-filled embankment dam and powerplant complex on the Muskegon River in Croton Township, Newaygo County, Michigan. It was built in 1907 under the direction of William D. Fargo by the Grand Rapids - Muskegon Power Company, a predecessor of Consumers Energy. The 40-foot-high (12 m) dam impounds 7.2 billion U.S. gallons (6 billion imp. gal/27 billion L) of water in its 1,209-acre (489 ha) reservoir and is capable of producing 8,850 kilowatts at peak outflow. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pardee Dam</span> Dam in Calaveras County, California

Pardee Dam is a 345-foot (105 m)-high structure across the Mokelumne River which marks the boundary between Amador and Calaveras Counties, located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada approximately 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Stockton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardy Dam</span> Dam in Newaygo County, Michigan

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine River (Manistee River tributary)</span> River in Michigan, United States

The Pine River, formerly known as the South Branch Manistee River, is a 53.6-mile-long (86.3 km) tributary of the Manistee River in the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms at the confluence of the North Branch and East Branch of the Pine River in northwest Osceola County, flows southwest, then west and north through the northeast corner of Lake County and into southwest Wexford County, emptying into the Tippy Dam Pond on the Manistee River in Manistee County. The Pine River watershed drains an area of 265 square miles (690 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foote Dam</span> Dam in Iosco County, Michigan

Foote Dam is a hydro-electric dam on the Au Sable River in Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geddes Dam</span> Dam in Ann Arbor Township, Michigan

The Geddes Dam is a decommissioned hydroelectric barrage dam crossing the Huron River. It is located in Ann Arbor Township in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It was built by the Detroit Edison Company in 1919 for hydroelectricity before being decommissioned in 1959. The dam is currently owned by the nearby city of Ann Arbor. The surrounding area is used for recreational purposes, including Gallup Park, which is Ann Arbor's most popular recreational area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mio Dam</span> Dam in Oscoda County, Michigan

Mio Dam is a hydro-electric dam located on the Au Sable River in Michigan capable of generating 4.96 MW of electric power. It was the 4th of 6 dams built by Consumers Power between 1906 and 1924 along the Au Sable River and is the furthest upstream of the six. The dam was completed in 1916. The Mio Hydroelectric Plant consists of an embankment on each side connected by a spillway. Located North of the spillway is the powerhouse and outdoor substation. Public access to Mio Pond is provided via a boat ramp maintained by Consumers Energy, and portage facilities are also provided allowing canoes and kayaks access to bypass the dam. Portage the dam on the right using the cement stairs then carry down a gravel road with a canoe slide on the down river side of the dam. The Mio Dam powerhouse continues to operate with the same turbines and generators that were installed over a century ago.

References