Yale Dam

For the dam in Sichuan, China, see Yele Dam.

Yale Dam is a 323-foot high earth-type hydroelectric dam on the Lewis River, in the U.S. state of Washington,^[4] owned by PacifiCorp.^[2] It is located on the border between Cowlitz County and Clark County. Its reservoir is called Yale Lake. The dam's power plant capacity is 134 megawatts.^[3]

Yale Dam
Yale Dam, north side
Location	Clark / Cowlitz counties, Washington, USA
Coordinates	45°57′51″N 122°19′57″W
Status	Operational
Opening date	1953
Designed by	Ebasco Services Inc.
Operator(s)	PacifiCorp[1]
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment dam
Impounds	Lewis River
Height	323 feet (98.5 m)
Length	1,500 feet (457 m)[2]
Elevation at crest	460 feet (140 m)
Spillway type	Gated concrete ogee/chute
Spillway length	195 feet (59.4 m)
Reservoir
Creates	Yale Lake
Total capacity	402,000 acre-feet (0.496 km3)
Catchment area	600 square miles (1,550 km2)
Power Station
Hydraulic head	240 square miles (622 km2)
Turbines	2
Installed capacity	134,000 kW[3]

In January 2020, PacifiCorp, the dam owner, lowered the reservoir level 10 feet below normal operating level in order to reduce the probability of an accidental release due to an earthquake.^[5]