5) Gardiner Dam
The Gardiner Dam on the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan is the third-largest embankment dam in Canada and one of the largest embankment dams in the world.
The dam rises 64 meters (209 feet) in height, is almost 5 km (3.1 mi) long, and has a width of 1.5 km (0.93 mi) at its base with a volume of 65,000,000 cubic meters. The dam is owned and operated by the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency. An integrated power generating plant, SaskPower’s Coteau Creek Hydroelectric Station, produces a net 186 MW of electricity from three 62 MW generators. The dam is named for a former Premier of Saskatchewan and longtime federal cabinet minister “James G. Gardiner”. The Gardiner dam is a famous tourist destination in Canada. It is one of the oldest and biggest dams in the world.
Gardiner Dam Statistics
- Height: 64 m (210 ft).
- Length: 5,000 m (16,400 ft).
- Spillway type: Gated overflow.
- Spillway capacity:7,500 m3/s (264,860 cu ft/s).
- Reservoir Total capacity: 9.4 km3 (7,620,700 acre⋅ft).
- Catchment area:126,000 km2 (49,000 sq mi).
- Maximum length: 115 km (71 mi).
- Turbines: 3x 62 MW at Coteau Creek Hydroelectric Station.
- Installed capacity: 186 MW.
How to reach
- You can visit the dam by driving on Highway 44 which is 20 kilometers west of a town called Macrorie or take Highway 219 which is 100 kilometers south of Saskatoon.