Flaming Gorge Dam Quick Facts
The Green River's headwaters are in the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. Sixty miles below Green River, Wyoming, the river enters the first of many deep canyons, including Flaming Gorge. The name Flaming Gorge was given when Major John Wesley Powell and his company saw the sun reflecting off the brilliant, flaming red rocks as they explored the Green and Colorado Rivers. The waters of the Green River are stored behind Flaming Gorge Dam as part of the Colorado River Storage Project. Flaming Gorge Reservoir extends as far as 91 miles to the north and provides many recreational opportunities as part of the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam is famous for its trout fishing and rafting.
| Flaming Gorge Dam History | |
| Construction authorized | April 11, 1956 |
| First construction contract award (temporary access road) | January 4, 1957 |
| Prime contract award | June 18, 1958 |
| Diversion of Green River around damsite | August 17, 1959 |
| First bucket of concrete | September 18, 1960 |
| Last bucket of concrete | November 15, 1962 |
| Start of storage in reservoir | December 10, 1962 |
| First power generated | September 27, 1963 |
| Last generator completed | February 12, 1964 |
| Dedicated by Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson | August 17, 1964 |
| Flaming Gorge Dam | |
| Height above bedrock | 502 feet (153 meters) |
| Height above original river channel | 455 feet (139 meters) |
| Crest length ( arch length at axis of dam) | 1,285 feet (392 meters) |
| Volume of concrete: Dam only Powerplant & misc. Total concrete |
Dam only 54,843 cubic yards (41,930 cubic meters) 1,041,487 cubic yards (796,274 cubic meters) |
| Cost of dam | $49,600,000 |
| Flaming Gorge Powerplant | |
| Number of generating units | 3 |
| Installed capacity | 150 megawatts |
| Average annual power generation | 500,000 megawatt hours |
| Cost of powerplant & switchyard | $65,300,000 |
| Flaming Gorge Reservoir | |
| Capacity, full (6,040 feet total) | 3,788,799 acre-feet (4,674 million cubic meters) |
| Active capacity | 3,749,000 acre-feet (4,624 million cubic meters) |
| Depth of water at dam (when full) | 436 feet (133 meters) |
| Miles of shoreline (when full) | 375 miles (604 kilometers) |