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Dam in Alberta, Canada
Bighorn Dam
A section of the Bighorn Dam
Official name
Bighorn Dam
Location
Clearwater County, Alberta, Canada
Construction began
1972
Opening date
1972
Owner(s)
TransAlta
Dam and spillways
Type of dam
Embankment dam
Impounds
North Saskatchewan River
Height
94m[1]
Reservoir
Creates
Lake Abraham
Surface area
53.7 km2 (20.7 sq mi)
Maximum length
32 km (20 mi)
Maximum width
3.3 km (2.1 mi)
Normal elevation
1,340 m (4,400 ft)
Power Station
Commission date
1972
Hydraulic head
91 m (299 ft) (Max)[1]
Installed capacity
120 MW[2]
Capacity factor
38.8%
Annual generation
408 GWh (1,470 TJ)[2]
Bighorn Dam (or Bighorn Hydro Plant) is an embankment dam located in Clearwater County in west-central Alberta, Canada. It was built by Calgary Power in 1972, and led to the creation of Lake Abraham, Alberta's largest reservoir.[2] The dam and associated hydroelectric plant are managed by TransAlta.
Planning of the dam involved no evaluation of the social and environmental effects it may have caused, and no public hearings were held prior to the construction either. The construction of the Bighorn dam flooded the Kootenay Plains and stopped the livelihood (hunting and fur trapping) of the Bighorn Stoney Indigenous that had lived in that area. It had flooded their cabins, graves and pastures.[3]
The Bighorn Plant is the second largest hydro facility owned by TransAlta (the largest being Brazeau Dam), with a capacity of 120 megawatts (MW). However, it has an available water supply that allows it to be the largest producer of hydroelectric energy in Alberta, with an average of 408 gigawatt-hours (1.47 PJ) each year.[2]
The plant is one of two TransAlta hydroelectric plants on the North Saskatchewan River system in Alberta.
The dam was built in 1972 in the mountain gap at Windy Point, in the Front Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, west of the confluence of the North Saskatchewan River and the Bighorn River.
^ ab"Bighorn Dam Safety Review". canprojects.com. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
^ abcd"Bighorn". www.transalta.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-02. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
^Ross, Thomas E. (2019-04-10). A Cultural Geography Of North American Indians. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-71275-3.
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