Brownlee Dam

Brownlee Dam is a hydroelectric earth fill embankment dam in the western United States, on the Snake River along the Idaho-Oregon border (Washington County, Idaho in and Baker County in Oregon). In Hells Canyon at river mile 285, it impounds the Snake River in the 58-mile-long (93 km) Brownlee Reservoir.

Brownlee Dam
View from northeast
Location in Idaho Show map of Idaho Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Official name	Brownlee Dam
Country	United States
Location	Hells Canyon, Baker Co., Oregon / Washington Co., Idaho
Coordinates	44.836°N 116.9°W / 44.836; -116.9
Construction began	1955[1][2]
Opening date	May 9, 1958; 67 years ago (1958-05-09) [3][4]
Operator(s)	Idaho Power Company
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Snake River
Height	420 feet (128 m)
Reservoir
Creates	Brownlee Reservoir
Total capacity	1,426,700 acre-feet (1.7598 km3)
Catchment area	72,590 square miles (188,000 km2)
Surface area	15,000 acres (61 km2)
Normal elevation	2,070 feet (630 m)
Power Station
Installed capacity	585.4 MW
Annual generation	2,406.8 GWh
Columbia River Basin

Description

Namesake of the Brownlee Dam & Reservoir, July 2008

The dam is part of the Hells Canyon Project that also includes Hells Canyon Dam and Oxbow Dam, all built and operated by Idaho Power Company. The first and upper-most of the three dams,^[5] its contractor was Morrison-Knudsen of Boise.^[1][2][6] Filling started 67 years ago on May 9, 1958 (1958-05-09),^[3] flooding the community of Robinette, Oregon.

The dam's powerhouse contains five generating units with a total nameplate capacity of 585.4 megawatts.

Lacking passage for migrating salmon, the three Hells Canyon Project dams blocked access by anadromous salmonids to a stretch of the Snake River drainage basin from Hells Canyon Dam up to Shoshone Falls, which naturally prevents any upstream fish passage to the upper Snake River basin.^[7]

Heliport

There is a 100-by-60-foot (30 by 18 m) private heliport, Brownlee Heliport (FAA LID: OR75), located near the dam.

See also

• Water portal
• Renewable energy portal
• Idaho portal
• Oregon portal

• Brownlee, Oregon, the dam's namesake, was located about two miles upstream.
• List of dams in the Columbia River watershed
• List of dams and reservoirs in Idaho
• List of lakes of Oregon