National Register of Historic Places

Lahontan Dam and Power Station

Fallon, Churchill County, Nevada
Listed
March 25, 1981
Type
Structure
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
81000381

About this property

The Lahontan Dam is a dam situated on the Carson River in the Carson Desert between Carson City, Nevada and Fallon, Nevada in the United States. Its impoundment is known as the Lahontan Reservoir or Lake Lahontan. It is currently operated by the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District. The Lahontan Dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation as part of the Newlands Project. It is an earthen structure, 162 ft (49 m) high by 1,700 ft (520 m) long and contains 733,000 cu yd (560,000 m3) of fill. When it was completed in 1915, it was the largest earth-fill dam in the United States. The reservoir receives water from an area of 1,450 mi2 (3,800 km2) and provides a storage capacity of 295,500 acre⋅ft (364,500 dam3) at spillway crest. An additional 23,900 acre⋅ft (29,500 dam3) can be stored by raising the gates, bringing the total capacity to 319,400 acre⋅ft (394,000 dam3). The primary purpose of the dam is to impound water for irrigation use. The site also includes hydroelectric generators with a total capacity of 4,000 kilowatts.

Location

Fallon, Churchill County, Nevada
39.46308, -119.06466

Categories

CONSERVATIONAGRICULTUREENGINEERING
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Carson River Diversion Dam
Industrial
4.2 mi
Hazen Store
Civil War
7.2 mi
Fernley and Lassen Railway Depot
Industrial
13.5 mi
Fernley Community Church
Industrial
14.1 mi
Churchill County Courthouse
Industrial
15.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Lahontan Dam and Power Station listed on the National Register?

Lahontan Dam and Power Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 25, 1981.

What type of historic resource is Lahontan Dam and Power Station?

Lahontan Dam and Power Station is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Lahontan Dam and Power Station?

The period of significance for Lahontan Dam and Power Station is recorded as the industrial era.

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