Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-03-28
ROOSEVELT dam The
largest ARTIFICIAL
Lake IN THE WORLD

Phoenix, Ariz., March 2S-The
Roosevelt dam reclamation project,
which was opened by Colonel Roose-
welt March Is, is situate half mile
below the confluence of Tonic Creek
and upper Salt River, at the head of
a canyon through which Salt River
flows for many miles.
| 1t is the most imposing feature of
the Salt River project, the first one
undertaken by the United States rec
lamation service under the provisions
of the reclamation act, approved by
President Roosevelt June II, 1902, and
after whom the town at the dam site
is named.
1t is seventy-six miles east of Phoe-
nix, which is situated in the center
of a valley of which 100000 acres is
signed to the Salt River Valley Water
Users association. This corposation
represents the farmers in their deal
ing with the government guaranteeing
payment of the construction cost Of
the project.
The dam creates Il reservoir eX-
tending twelve miles up Tonic creek
and thirteen miles up Salt River near
ly to what is known as the intake dam.
400 feet long. The capacity OF the
reservoir is 1,2S4,205 acrefeet, the
! largest artificial lake in the world
Though the dam is not the largest in
the world, it is among the largest. The
foundation rests en- bed rock, 40 feet
below river level.
! 1t is 235 feet long, between the can
ycn walls, and 40 feet wide. From
the river level to the crest OF the
spillways at either end of the DAM
the height is, 220 feet, that being the
greatest depth of storage possible.
The spillways are bridged and over
the bridges and the top of the dam
runs the only highway in that region
connecting the mountain country on
the north and south sides of Salt Riv-
en- This roadway is twenty feet
above the highest storage and cop.
ing four feet high protects the road
way. From the bottom OF the foun-
dation to the top of the coping, is
2S4 feet.
The dam is curved, arching up.
stream and at the top is $50 feet long
and sixteen feet wide. The spillways
at either end are 200 feet wide, so
the length, inclusive of the bridges
over the spillways, is 1880 feet. The
spillways are blasted from the noun
tain sides.
The dam contains 339,4OO cubic
yards of masonry, every stone of
which was washed before it was per.
manently cemented in place. In the
construction of the dam and auxil-
larry works 338,452 barrels of cement
were used, all manufactured on the
ground at a cost of $1,063,542, in a
cement mill erected by the govern
ment and recently sold. The cost was
1914 per barrel, as against $3.50 per
BARREL the best private bid available
when operations began. The manu-
facture of cement on the ground ef-
fected a saving of $592,300.
The first stone was laid in the foun-
dation September 20, 1906. The last
stone was laid on the coping 284 feet
above. February 6, 1911. The upper
face of the dam is almost perpendicu-
lar. The lower face retreats like the
pyramids in huge stone steps from the
width Of 10 feet in the foundation,
to sixteen feet at the top.
No less interesting are the auxiliary
and correlated works. such as the ce-
|ment mill. the hydro-electric plants
for generating 5000 horse power. and
what is termed the electric plant,
creating power for dam construction.
Skirting the north end of the dam
almost under the spillway and driven
through the solid rock, is tunnel No.
2. us feet above the river bed. Its
sole mission is to release irrigation
water when the reservoir shall contain
it above that elevation, and when it
is desired to release greater quanti-
ty then will come through the pen
stock supplying the power house.
The third exit for flood water, one
that is most necessary but will be
least used, and the largest of all, is
known as the sluicing tunnel, or tun.
mel No. /. 1t was driven through the
solid mountain circling the south end
of the site, at the river level, before
the construction OF the dam began.
IL Will Uc uocu olulCIH6 oIlC, ~ uCC-
essary. and for releasing larger ir
r;gation supply then the penstock fur
nishes, if needed when the water ele-
walton in the reservoir is below the
entrance to tunnel No. 2.
Among the earliest construction
features was the building of freight |
road sixty miles long from Mesa City,
the nearest available railroad point,
to the Roosevelt dam site. Of this,
twenty two miles is across a desert |
ond thirty-eight miles through the
most impressive mountain scenery in !
the west.
The road was constructed for per-
nancy and though as crooked as a
knotted rope and often winding around
the face of the cliff, it is as fine a
as city street.
The foregoing constructions consti-
tute the larger features of the stor
age enterprise, sixty miles or more
above the lands to be irrigated. The
system is no less inter
esting though no one feature is so
great. The water released from the
DON, WINS dou,p Tho rivor ohonno1