Saint Anthony Falls Lock and Dam 

 

 

Lower St. Anthony Lock and Dam Taken By Greg Hodgson (Flickr profile: HodgsonGreg)

 

 

 

History

10,000 years ago the River Warrens Falls reached the area where the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers met and split into two different falls.  One fall happened to be the St. Anthony Falls.  Many early explorers were attracted by the beauty of the falls. In the early 1700's and 1800's the falls became the prominent power for the flour and lumber mills built around the area.  [1]  The U.S. army corps saved the waterfall in a ten year span that began in 1930 and ended in 1940.  They built 23 locks and dams along the Mississippi river to help with the river traffic flow.  The project was called the 9-Foot Channel Project, and it implemented a 4.6 mile extension authorized by Congress that designed and built a low-crest, non-navigational dam whose lower half was completed in 1956, where as the upper half was completed in 1963.  [2]

Upper Saint Anthony Falls Lock and Dam

Minnesota used the Upper Saint Anthony Falls Lock and Dam to improve navigation and pursue recreational purposes.  The height of the upper dam is 93 feet and 1900 feet long.  The maximum exertion of water is 91,000 cubic feet per second.  Its maximum storage capacity is 4,900 acre feet with a normal storage capacity of 3,150 acre feet. [3]

Lower Saint Anthony Falls Lock and Dam

The Lower Saint Anthony Falls Lock and Dam is closed to the public, so not many people are familiar with the structure.  The dam is quite large with a 24 foot head, with a majority of the dam being concrete.  The height is 58 feet with a length of 213 feet.  The maximum exertion of water is 91,000 cubic feet per second.  Its maximum storage capacity is 420 acre feet with a normal storage capacity of 375 acre feet.  It drains a mass volume of 19,680 square miles. [4]