The Fort Peck Dam and Reservoir

The Peck Dam project was built in the 1930s as one of FDR's New Deal Make Work projects. It is the largest hydraulically filled dam in the world and the second largest dam in the US.  The trouble is that the size of it makes it difficult to see the whole thing....it is 250 ft high, 4900 ft wide at the base, and 50 feet wide at the top.  We were travelling along the top of it for awhile without realizing it.

We managed to go on an excellent tour of the 185 megawatt power plant (free!) hosted by the US Army Corps of Engineers who built and meticulously operate the plant.  Unfortunately since 911 we were not allowed to take pictures of anything but we were allowed to touch the rotating shaft that connects the turbine to the generator.  The power houses are dominated by gigantic surge tanks that are about 10 stories tall.

The spillway, about 5 miles from the dam, is far more impressive than the dam as it is made entirely out of concrete and is about a mile long.  They were repairing the spillway, hence you'll not see any water pouring through it in the picture below.