| Box Butte Dam | |
|---|---|
  Location of Box Butte Dam in NebraskaShow map of Nebraska Box Butte Dam (the United States)Show map of the United States | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Dawes County, Nebraska |
| Coordinates | 42°27′18″N 103°04′38″W / 42.45513°N 103.07723°W / 42.45513; -103.07723 |
| Status | Operational |
| Opening date | 1946 |
| Built by | United States Bureau of Reclamation |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Height | 87 ft (27 m) |
| Length | 5,508 ft (1,679 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Box Butte Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 31,060 acre⋅ft (38,310,000 m) |
| Surface area | 1,600 acres (650 ha) |
| Normal elevation | 4,000 ft (1,220 m) |
Box Butte Dam (National ID # NE01069) is a dam in the arid northwestern panhandle area of Dawes County, Nebraska.
The earthen dam was constructed from 1941 through 1946 by the United States Bureau of Reclamation with a structural height of 87 feet (27 m) and 5,508 feet (1,679 m) long at its crest. It impounds the Niobrara River for flood control, part of the Bureau's Mirage Flats Project for irrigation water storage. No hydroelectric power is produced here.
The reservoir it creates, Box Butte Reservoir, has a water surface of 1,600 acres (650 ha), 612 acres (248 ha) of surrounding land, about 14 miles (23 km) of shoreline, and a capacity of 31,060 acre-feet (38,310,000 m). Recreation includes fishing (for northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, yellow perch, and channel cat), hunting, boating, camping and hiking.
The southern shore of the lake borders the Box Butte Reservoir State Recreation Area.
References
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Box Butte Dam
- "Dam details - Box Butte Dam - Bureau of Reclamation". Usbr.gov. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- "Project details - Mirage Flats Project - Bureau of Reclamation". Usbr.gov. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- "Recreation.gov recreation area details - Box Butte Reservoir - Recreation.gov". Recreation.gov. Retrieved 24 December 2014.