Madison Dam

Madison Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Madison River in Madison County, Montana, in the southwestern part of the state.

Madison Dam
Madison Dam, January 2015
LocationMadison County, Montana
Coordinates45°28′12″N 111°38′18″W
PurposeHydroelectric, Flood Control, Water Supply, Recreation
Owner(s)PPL MONTANA, LLC
Operator(s)NorthWestern Corporation
Dam and spillways
Type of damTimber crib
Spillway capacity7,700 cubic feet per second (220 m3/s)
Reservoir
Total capacity42,053 acre-foot (51,872,000 m3)

The timber-crib dam was constructed in 1906 as a replacement for a similar 1901 dam and powerhouse on the same site. The dam is 39 feet (12 m) high and 257 feet (78 m) long at its crest,[1] placed into the narrows of Bear Trap Canyon. As one of eight PPL Montana hydro projects, it has a generating capacity of 9 megawatts (12,000 hp) in a run-of-the-river configuration.[2] Montana Power Company acquired the dam in 1912 as part of a merger, PPL Corporation purchased it in 1997 and sold it to NorthWestern Corporation in 2014.

The reservoir it creates, Ennis Lake, is 2.6 miles (4.2 km) long and has a maximum storage capacity of 42,053 acre-foot (51,872,000 m3).[1] The lake is relatively shallow and warms significantly during the summer, which tends to decrease fish populations.[3] The lake supports recreational fishing for brown trout and rainbow trout, camping, boating, and white-water rafting in Bear Trap Canyon downstream (north) of the dam.[4]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2016-10-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Madison Dam". Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  3. "Ennis Lake". Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  4. "Ennis Lake, Montana, USA Vacation Info".
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