Albeni Falls Dam was authorized for construction under the Flood Control Act of 1950. This Act was signed by the U. S. Congress in response to a great flood that swept over the river valleys of the Columbia Basin in 1948. Albeni Falls Dam was built from January 1951 to December of 1955 at a total cost of $34 million US.
The dam is made up of two different parts: the powerhouse and the spillway. The powerhouse contains powerful turbines and generators that convert gravity-driven river water into hydroelectricity. The spillway can either store water for downstream power production and irrigation at other dams along the Pend Oreille and Columbia Rivers, or release water for upstream flood control. There is 136,000 cubic yards (61 million pounds) of concrete in the structure.
Today, it produces over 200 million kilowatt hours of electrical energy each year. When running at top capacity, the three Kaplan generators can generate 42.6 megawatts. That's enough power to supply about 15,000 homes. Bonneville Power Administration markets this electricity to customers primarily in the Pacific Northwest. This power production saves the United States from buying about 4.9 million barrels of imported oil each year.
To claim this virtual, please visit both informational signs and message me the answers to the following questions: 1. Power distribution is over what three lines? 2. What word is in quotes from the picture dated 8/20/1953?
Please post a picture of yourself (face not required) and something geocaching related with the falls and dam or nearby bridge in the background. If you don't have anything other than your phone or GPSr device, a picture of you pointing to the dam will suffice.
Permission granted for this virtual by Miranda Berg, Park Ranger
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.