Iron Gate Dam Reservoirs Lowered on Klamath River
The largest dam removal in U.S. history is underway, with the lowering of dammed reservoirs on the Klamath River in Oregon.
Members of the Yurok Tribe were on hand to witness the first big surge of waters on Jan. 11, as Oregon Public Radio reported on opening of a 16-foot-wide bypass tunnel at the base of the dam, releasing the flow of water darkened by pent-up sediment that also surged through.
The Iron Gate itself is an earth embankment dam. The lowering of Iron Gate and two other reservoirs on the Klamath river will make way for removal of three remaining hydroelectric dams that are part of the Lower Klamath project in Northern California and southern Oregon.
The report from Oregon Public Radio on NPR’s “All Things Considered” program hailed the removal of major dams along ...