Iron Gate Dam (California)

Iron Gate Dam is an earthfill hydroelectric dam on the Klamath River in northern California, outside Hornbrook, California. The dam blocks the Klamath River to create the Iron Gate Lake Reservoir. It is the lowermost of a series of power dams on the river, the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project, operated by PacifiCorp. It also poses the first barrier to migrating salmon in the Klamath. The Iron Gate Fish Hatchery was placed just after the dam, hatching salmon and steelhead that are released back into the river. [1] The Iron Gate Dam along with the John C. Boyle Dam are two of four on the Klamath River that would be removed under the Klamath Economic Restoration Act.[2] As of February 2016, the states of Oregon and California, the dam owners, federal regulators and other parties reached an agreement to remove all four dams by the year 2020, pending approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.[3] A movement to Un-Dam the Klamath has been ongoing for 20 years to remove the dams.[4][5]

Iron Gate Dam
CountryUnited States
LocationSiskiyou County, California
Coordinates41°56′02″N 122°26′07″W
Opening date1964
Dam and spillways
Type of damEarthfill
ImpoundsKlamath River
Height173 ft (53 m)
Length540 ft (160 m)
Spillway typeConcrete overflow
Reservoir
CreatesIron Gate Reservoir
Total capacity58,000 acre⋅ft (72,000,000 m3)
Catchment area4,630 sq mi (12,000 km2)
Surface area1,020 acres (410 ha)
Power Station
Turbines2
Installed capacity18 MW
Annual generation112,650,000 KWh

See also

References
  1. https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Hatcheries/Iron-Gate
  2. Stillwater Sciences A Preliminary Evaluation of the Potential Downstream Sediment Deposition Following the Removal of Iron Gate, Copco, and J.C. Boyle Dams, Klamath River, CA Final Report Prepared for American Rivers, May 2004.
  3. Carolyn Lochhead (3 February 2016). "New plan to remove Klamath River dams without help from Congress". SFGate.
  4. Hartel, Diana (25 May 2011). "Doctor's Orders: Undam the Klamath". High Country News.
  5. "Dams Are Threatening California Salmon and a Native Tribe's Culture". VICE News. 22 October 2020.


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