Built in the Flathead National Forest, on the South Fork of the Flathead River, 4 miles above its confluence with the main Flathead River, this dam has a drainage basin of over one million acres. If you are visiting Glacier National Park, this is a must see. It has four generators with a combined capacity of over 285 thousand K.V.A. A few mills were set up to saw railroad ties. These works have provided water, transforming sagebrush to lush farmland and delivering water to create towns and great cities, allowing the "desert to bloom." Durham, NC 27705-9311 We were totally surprised after the drive into the backwoods to see this massive dam and reservoir at the end of the drive. The tallest gravity dam is the 285 m (935 ft) high Grande Dixence Dam in Switzerland. Our family of four enjoyed going to see the dam and resevoir. Five of these 8-foot steel balls were used on this job. Steel ball used in clearing for Hungry Horse Reservoir. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. Waters of the South Fork are now regulated to control the flow of the Flathead River, thus preventing floods in the valley and contributing to flood control all the way to the Pacific Ocean. It was recommended by our resort conciere. The dam road goes to the other side of Hungry Horse lake. It has four generators with a combined capacity of over 285 thousand K.V.A. John Trisdale also experimented on brush piling by hitching two bulldozers together, side by side. The shear size of the dam is worth the detour - 30 minutes to and back from the main highway including viewing time. But this caused the cable to catch all the stumps left from logging. Ninety million board feet of timber was removed, mostly in the form of saw-logs and poles. All of the brush was piled and burned, but the lone snag—with its nest of eagles—remained until the fall. The brush blade on the front of this machine was 22 feet wide. In late fall, when downstream power demands increase, the generators are stepped up and the lake begins to fall. 2925 Academy Road It was a short detour off of Rt 2. Review tags are currently only available for English language reviews. Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Reclamation, Hungry Horse Dam, on the South Fork of the Flathead River. more. After commercial timber was removed, the debris was piled and burned. Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Reclamation, March 1st 2016 marks the 80th anniversary of Hoover Dam. Absolutely worth the detour - especially in the spring, Ask Ottawajester about Hungry Horse Reservoir, Ask justme048 about Hungry Horse Reservoir, Ask alexthescot about Hungry Horse Reservoir, Hotels near The Gallery of Artist Michael G Booth, Hotels near (FCA) Glacier National Park Airport, Points of Interest & Landmarks in Hungry Horse, The Gallery of Artist Michael G Booth Tickets. During the clearing on the flat near the mouth of Sullivan Creek, Trisdale and I were going over the area one day to review burning plans when we noticed a golden eagle on her nest atop a large larch snag that had the top broken off about 70 feet above the ground. The dam is impressive, at over 580 feet tall, and the reservoir itself is beautiful. Included in this transfer were 13 dwellings, a dormitory, a conference hall, a cement-testing laboratory (now used for a Forest Service warehouse), and a large administration building. Trees and snags, left after the logging, were pulled down by dragging a 1-1/2-inch cable, about 200 yards long, between two bulldozers. J. J. Reese had the first contract; Wilson and Crow and John Trisdale were the other contractors. At the time of construction, plans called for diverting a million acre-feet of water into this reservoir from the Middle Fork through an 8-mile tunnel from Spruce Park to somewhere near Devils Corkscrew Creek. The first to rise was Hungry Horse, a concrete arch dam begun in 1948 on the South Fork of the Flathead River in Montana. March 1st 2016 marks the 80th anniversary of Hoover Dam. The tallest embankment dam and second tallest dam in the world is the 300 m (984 ft) Nurek Dam in Tajikistan. Trisdale told his foremen to clear all around the snag, but to let the snag stand. Hungry Horse Dam is 2,100 feet long and 564 feet high, and contains approximately 250 million cubic yards of concrete. They were run up and down these slopes like a "Yo-Yo", pushing all debris to the bottom. We got out and walked across to the other side. There is no private land within this drainage basin. Good places to buy meals and coffee at Hungry Horse. Hiking Trails, Jogging Paths & Tracks, Biking Trails. We aslo saw a waterfall at the other side - alpha creek.Pretty waterfall this time of year with all the runoff. One of the balls is now on display in the roadside park in the town of Hungry Horse. We have visited Hoover Dam and were expecting this to be a really small reservoir. Hungry Horse Resevoir: Hungry Horse Dam & resevoir - See 162 traveler reviews, 159 candid photos, and great deals for Hungry Horse, MT, at Tripadvisor. Beautiful views of the resevoir. Hungry horse reservoir isn't the kind of attraction I would plan a vacation around, but if your in the area, it may be a nice place to spend an hour or two. I'm glad we went. Hungry Horse Resevoir: An Awesome Dam - See 166 traveler reviews, 164 candid photos, and great deals for Hungry Horse, MT, at Tripadvisor. What a beautiful place. It cost approximately $100 million to build. Hungry Horse Dam is on the South Fork of the Flathead River, 15 miles south of the west entrance to Glacier National Park and 20 miles northeast of Kalispell, Montana. Steep slopes and banks were cleared by running the bulldozers straight up and down the slopes, controlled by a large cable and winch mounted on the back of another tractor. It is located in Flathead National Forest, in Flathead County, about 15 miles (24 km) south of the west entrance to Glacier National Park, 9 miles (14 km) southeast of Columbia Falls, and 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Kalispell. The structure was built by a combine known as General Shea Morrison.