Kinzua Dam
The Kinzua Dam, on the Allegheny River in Warren County, Pennsylvania, is one of the largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi River. It is located within the Allegheny National Forest.
| Kinzua Dam | |
|---|---|
Kinzua Dam in July 2015 | |
| Official name | Kinzua Dam |
| Location | Allegheny National Forest Glade Township / Mead Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°50′16″N 79°0′11″W |
| Construction began | 1960 |
| Opening date | 1965 |
| Operator(s) | Army Corps of Engineers |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Allegheny River |
| Height | 179 feet (55 m) |
| Length | 1,897 feet (578 m) |
| Width (base) | 1,245 feet (379 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Allegheny Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 1,300,000 acre-feet (1.6 km3) |
| Active capacity | 573,000 acre-feet (0.707 km3) |
The dam is located 6 miles (10 km) east of Warren, Pennsylvania, along Route 59, within the 500,000-acre (200,000 ha) Allegheny National Forest. A boat marina and beach are located within the dam boundaries. In addition to providing flood control and power generation, the dam created Pennsylvania's second deepest lake, the Allegheny Reservoir, also known as Kinzua Lake, and Lake Perfidy among the Seneca. Quaker Lake, a smaller artificial lake that empties into the reservoir, was also formed as a result of the dam.
The lake extends 25 miles to the north, nearly to Salamanca, New York, which is within the Allegany Reservation of the Seneca Nation of New York. Federal condemnation of tribal lands to be flooded for the project displaced more than 600 Seneca members and cost the reservation 10,000 acres (4,000 ha), nearly one-third of its territory and much of its fertile farmland.