Largest Dams in North America by Installed Capacity

By  Sam Drake , views , updated
Categories: Urban Americas
Dataset contains 27 data items (see table below).

Overview

The largest dam in North America by installed capacity is Grand Coulee Dam of United States with a capacity of 6,809 MW. The second largest dam by installed capacity is Robert-Bourassa generating station with 5,616 MW, while the third largest is Churchill Falls Generating Station at 5,428 MW.The installed capacities of major dams in North America range from 85 MW to 6,809 MW, with the average being 1,869.2 MW.

 Compare Grand Coulee Dam with Chicoasén Dam

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The above represents only a partial dataset — click here to rank, query and segment all 27 data items on the full dataset.

Here are the largest dams by installed capacity in North America.

Grand Coulee Dam.

Grand Coulee Dam (Youtube/Drones in the Wild)

Completed in 1942, Grand Coulee Dam is a 80-year-old gravity dam. It is located in Washington State, United States (North America).

Grand Coulee Dam is the largest hydroelectric dam in North America by installed capacity. The installed capacity of Grand Coulee Dam is 6,809MW. The gravity dam stands 168 meters tall and can impound up to 12 billion m3 of water. Its structural volume is 9.16 million m3.

 

 Compare Grand Coulee Dam with Dworshak Dam from United States.

 Compare Grand Coulee Dam with Hume Dam from Australia.


Robert-Bourassa Generating Station.

Welcome to Robert-Bourassa generating facility in Baie-James (Youtube/Hydro - Québec)

Robert-Bourassa generating station, also known as La Grande-2, is an embankment dam located in Baie-James, Quebec, Canada (North America). It was completed in 1981 (41 years old).

Robert-Bourassa Generating Station is the 2nd largest hydroelectric embankment dam in the world by installed capacity. The embankment dam stands at a height of 162 meters and impounds up to 61.70 billion m3 of water. Robert-Bourassa generating station has an installed capacity of 5,616MW.

 

 Compare Robert-Bourassa Generating Station with Kielder Water Dam from United Kingdom.

 Compare Robert-Bourassa Generating Station with Hirakud Dam from India.


Churchill Falls Generating Station.

Churchill Falls Generating Station (Youtube/VOCMNEWS)

Located in Labrador, Canada, Churchill Falls Generating Station is a dike system. It was built in 1974 (48 years since completion).

Churchill Falls Generating Station is the largest hydroelectric dike system in the world by installed capacity. The dike system stands at a height of 64 meters and impounds up to 32.64 billion m3 of water. Churchill Falls Generating Station has a structural volume of 2.20 million m3 and an installed capacity of 5,428MW.

 

 Compare Churchill Falls Generating Station with Houtribdijk from Netherlands.

 Compare Churchill Falls Generating Station with La Grande-4 from Canada.


Bath County Pumped Storage Station.

Bath County Pumped Storage Station (Youtube/Dominion Energy)

Bath County Pumped Storage Station is a 37-year-old embankment dam (completed in 1985). It is located in Bath County, Virginia, United States (North America).

Bath County Pumped Storage Station is the 2nd largest hydroelectric dam in United States by installed capacity. The installed capacity of Bath County Pumped Storage Station is 3,003MW. The embankment dam stands 41 meters tall and can impound up to 0.03 billion m3 of water. Its structural volume is 3.10 million m3.

 

 Compare Bath County Pumped Storage Station with Mangla Dam from Pakistan.

 Compare Bath County Pumped Storage Station with Darwin Dam from Australia.


W. A. C. Bennett Dam.

Tour of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam (credit: Youtube/Shaw TV Northern BC)

W. A. C. Bennett Dam is located in Hudson's Hope, British Columbia, Canada (North America). The embankment dam was completed in 1968 (54 years old).

The structural height of W. A. C. Bennett Dam is 186 meters while its structural volume of 43.70 million m3. The embankment dam can hold up to 7.40 billion m3 of water and has an installed capacity of 2,876MW.

 

 Compare W. A. C. Bennett Dam with San Luis Dam from United States.

 Compare W. A. C. Bennett Dam with Aswan Dam from Egypt.


Mica Dam.

BC Hydro Mica Dam Test Spill 26 July 2012 base of dam (Youtube/TOC Vernon)

Located in Mica Creek, British Columbia, Canada, Mica Dam is an embankment dam. It was built in 1973 (49 years since completion).

Mica Dam is the 2nd tallest dam in North America. The embankment dam has an installed capacity of 2,805MW. Mica Dam stands 240 meters tall and can impound up to 24.76 billion m3 of water.

 

 Compare Mica Dam with Crotty Dam from Australia.

 Compare Mica Dam with Rutland Water Dam from United Kingdom.


Chief Joseph Dam.

Chief Joseph Dam (Youtube/Eph Robbins)

Chief Joseph Dam is a 43-year-old gravity dam (completed in 1979). It is located in Washington State, United States (North America).

Chief Joseph Dam is the 3rd largest hydroelectric dam in United States by installed capacity. The gravity dam has an installed capacity of 2,620MW. Chief Joseph Dam stands 72 meters tall and can impound up to 0.64 billion m3 of water.

 

 Compare Chief Joseph Dam with Warragamba Dam from Australia.

 Compare Chief Joseph Dam with Xiangjiaba Dam from China.


Revelstoke Dam.

Revelstoke Dam (Youtube/Simon Rizzardo)

Revelstoke Dam, also known as Revelstoke Canyon Dam, is a composite dam located in Revelstoke, Canada (North America). It was completed in 1984 (38 years old).

Revelstoke Dam is the 2nd tallest composite dam in the world. The installed capacity of Revelstoke Dam is 2,480MW. The composite dam stands 175 meters tall and can impound up to 1.52 billion m3 of water.

 

 Compare Revelstoke Dam with Boguchany Dam from Russia.

 Compare Revelstoke Dam with Santo Antônio Dam from Brazil.


Chicoasén Dam.

Visita a la Presa Hidroeléctrica de Chicoasén (Youtube/Rutilio Escandón Cadenas)

Chicoasén Dam, also known as Manuel Moreno Torres, is an embankment dam located in Chicoasén, Chiapas, Mexico (North America). It was completed in 1980 (42 years old).

Chicoasén Dam is the 3rd tallest embankment dam in the world. The structural height of Chicoasén Dam is 261 meters. The embankment dam can hold up to 1.61 billion m3 of water and has an installed capacity of 2,430MW.

 

 Compare Chicoasén Dam with San Luis Dam from United States.

 Compare Chicoasén Dam with San Roque Dam from Philippines.


Dams Lists

Largest Dams by Installed Capacity (MW): world | Asia | Europe | North America | South America | USA | Canada | Australia | UK

Tallest Dams: world | Asia | Europe | North America | South America | USA | Canada | Australia | UK

Dams with Largest Structural Volume: world | Asia | Europe | North America | South America | USA | Canada | Australia | UK

Dams with Largest Reservoir Volume: world | Asia | Europe | North America | South America | USA | Canada | Australia | UK

Largest/tallest Dams by Type: Arch Dams | Embankment Dams | Gravity Dams | Arch-Gravity Dams | Buttress Dams

Attributions