The Oahe Dam is a major man-made dam along the Missouri River, just north of Pierre, South Dakota. It creates Lake Oahe, the 4th-largest man-made reservoir in the United States, which stretches 231 miles (372 km) up the course of the Missouri to Bismark, North Dakota.

Oahe Dam was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944, and construction began in 1948. It is named for the Oahe Indian Mission established among the Lakota Sioux in 1874. The dam, 245 feet (75 m) in height, began generating power in 1962, and was officially dedicated by President John F. Kennedy on August 17, 1962. The hydroelectric power plant provides electrical energy to the states of Nebraska, Minnesota, Montana and North and South Dakota. In addition to power generation, the dam and lake also serve flood control, irrigation, water supply, and recreational purposes. The revervoir has a storage capacity of 23.5 million acre-feet (29 km³). The Cannonball, Grand, Moreau, and Cheyenne Rivers all flow into Lake Oahe from the west.

External link

• Oahe Project Homepage - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers