A Sightseer's Guide to EngineeringNational Society of Professional EngineersNational Engineer's Week
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Lake Oahe is the fourth-largest manmade reservoir in the U.S. The lake is 231 miles long and extends from Pierre, South Dakota, upstream to Bismarck, North Dakota. There are 2,250 miles of shoreline--more shoreline than the state of California has.


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© 2010 NSPE. A Sightseer's Guide to Engineering | Disclaimer | Contact: Stacey Ober, pr@nspe.org, at 703-684-2815
SOUTH DAKOTA Printable version
Oahe Dam/Lake Oahe
The dam is located 5 miles north of Fort Pierre, on South Dakota Highway 1806
Fort Pierre, SD 57532
605/224-5862
Web Site
At the powerplant visitor center, you can see exhibits and models and take a free, guided tour. 
Hours of Operation: Daily tours Memorial Day-Labor Day, at 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.
Construction of the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River started in 1948 with the relocation of towns, roads, and bridges that would be flooded by creation of the reservoir. Work on the 9,300-foot-long, rolled-earth dam then proceeded, with closure taking place in 1958. The first official filling was achieved in April 1962, and all seven generators in the powerhouse were online in 1963. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed and built the dam for flood control, power generation, irrigation, and navigation. The reservoir holds 23.5 million acre-feet of water.
 
Who Made It: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers