Tongue River Dam

Tongue River Reservoir
Tongue River Dam
Tongue River Reservoir is located in Montana
Tongue River Reservoir
Tongue River Reservoir
LocationBig Horn County, Montana
Coordinates45°03′38″N 106°47′24″W / 45.06056°N 106.79000°W / 45.06056; -106.79000 [1]
Lake typeReservoir
Primary inflowsTongue River
Primary outflowsTongue River
Basin countriesUnited States
Max. length5.5 miles (8.9 km)
Max. width1.1 miles (1.8 km)
Surface area3,700 acres (1,500 ha)
Water volume79,071 acre-feet (97,533,000 m3)[2]
Surface elevation4,222 feet (1,287 m)[1]

The Tongue River Dam (National Inventory of Dams ID MT00002) is a dam in Big Horn County, Montana, a few miles north of the Wyoming state border. It impounds the Tongue River, creating the Tongue River Reservoir.

The earthen dam was constructed in the river canyon in 1939, with a height of 91 feet (28 m) and a length at its crest of 1,824 feet (556 m).[2] It impounds Montana's north-flowing Tongue River for flood control and irrigation water storage. The dam and reservoir are owned and operated by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

The 12-mile-long (19 km) riverine reservoir it creates has a normal water surface of 5.5 square miles (14 km2), a maximum capacity of 150,000 acre-feet (190,000,000 m3), and normal storage of 69,400 acre-feet (85,600,000 m3).[2] Recreation includes boating, fishing for bass, crappie, walleye and northern pike,[3] and camping in the Tongue River Reservoir State Park.[4] For white-water rafters, the Tongue is a Class I river from the Dam downstream (northward) to its confluence with the Yellowstone River.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Tongue River Reservoir". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ a b c "Tongue River Dam Fact Sheet" (PDF). Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. ^ "Tongue River Reservoir". Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. ^ "Tongue River Reservoir State Park". Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  5. ^ "Stream Access in Montana". Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. January 2005. Retrieved July 1, 2020.