page_title: Dam
section_title: Steel dams
hierarchical_section_title: Dam / Types of dams / By material / Steel dams
caption_attribution_description: English: This image was found at the Library of Congress HAER archive entry with the original caption: "VIEW LOOKING AT UPSTREAM SIDE OF DAM. HAER MICH,31-BEHIL,1-1" It is a part of the Historic American Engineering Record collection of photos. Redridge Steel Dam, Houghton County, Mi, image taken by Jet Lowe, HAER photographer, in July 1978.
context_page_description: A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability. Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect water or for storage of water which can be evenly distributed between locations. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. The earliest known dam is the Jawa Dam in Jordan, dating to 3,000 BC.
  The word dam can be traced back to Middle English, and before that, from Middle Dutch, as seen in the names of many old cities. The first known appearance of dam occurs in 1165. However, there is one village, Obdam, that is already mentioned in 1120. The word seems to be related to the Greek word taphos, meaning "grave" or "grave hill". So the word should be understood as "dike from dug out earth".
context_section_description: A steel dam is a type of dam briefly experimented with around the start of the 20th century which uses steel plating (at an angle) and load-bearing beams as the structure. Intended as permanent structures, steel dams were an (arguably failed) experiment to determine if a construction technique could be devised that was cheaper than masonry, concrete or earthworks, but sturdier than timber crib dams.
caption: Redridge Steel Dam, built 1905, Michigan
exif: {"Image ExifOffset": "56", "Image XPAuthor": "Jet Lowe"}