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Preparations for construction of Martin Dam began in 1916 as
Alabama Power began to purchase lands that would be flooded by its construction. Actual work on the dam commenced in 1923 and was completed in 1926; the lake filled to capacity for the first time on April 23, 1928 after heavy upstream
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10 m), Lake Martin stretches over 30 miles (48 km) up the
Tallapoosa River. The lake is drawn down by an average of 10 feet (3.0 m) each winter to facilitate flood control operations at Martin Dam.
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is controlled by twenty 30 ft (9.1 m) x 16 ft (4.9 m) gates and has a total discharge capacity of 134,000 cubic feet per second (3,800 m/s). At its full capacity of 1,622,000 acre⋅ft
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flooding. However, the dam was not officially dedicated until 1936. At the time of completion, Lake Martin was the largest man-made body of water in the world. Filling the reservoir submerged the towns of
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444:(MW). A fourth generator with a capacity of 55.2 MW was incorporated in 1952, bringing the total generating capacity to 182.5 MW. The power plant generates over 327 million
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384:, the dam was built in the 1920s to provide flood control, hydroelectric power generation and water supply. Originally known as the
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The dam is 168 feet (51 m) high and 2,000 feet (610 m) long, straddling the border of
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upon its original construction in 1927, with capacities of 45.8, 41 and 40.5
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599:"Alabama Register of Landmarks & Heritage Listings as of April 7, 2023"
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dam, the dam is named in honor of Thomas Wesley Martin, president of the
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Counties with the powerhouse located on the Elmore (west) side. The
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during the dam's construction. The
African American community of
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Properties on the
Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
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Buildings and structures in
Tallapoosa County, Alabama
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412:), as well as many historic Native American sites.
705:Buildings and structures in Elmore County, Alabama
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506:List of largest reservoirs in the United States
657:"Lake Martin and the Thomas Wesley Martin Dam"
380:. Impounding the 40,000-acre (16,000 ha)
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333:Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
208:134,000 cu ft/s (3,800 m/s)
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436:Martin Dam's powerhouse contained three
190:431,000 cu yd (330,000 m)
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511:List of reservoirs and dams in Alabama
364:is a concrete arch gravity dam on the
720:Hydroelectric power plants in Alabama
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245:2,984 sq mi (7,730 km)
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54:Location of Martin Dam in Alabama
735:United States power company dams
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629:. Alabama Power. Archived from
546:. Alabama Power. Archived from
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396:was submerged by Lake Martin.
261:490 ft (150 m) (max)
23:Dam in near Dadeville, Alabama
1:
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253:39,180 acres (15,860 ha)
231:1,622,000 acre⋅ft (2.001
678:"Martin Hydro Plant History"
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182:2,000 ft (610 m)
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659:. Encyclopedia of Alabama
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578:"Lake Martin Statistics"
16:Not to be confused with
544:"Martin Dam Fact Sheet"
496:Renewable energy portal
295:Installed capacity
276:145 ft (44 m)
174:168 ft (51 m)
130:Construction began
740:Dams completed in 1926
308:Annual generation
205:Spillway capacity
390:Alabama Power Company
258:Normal elevation
156:Concrete arch-gravity
152:Type of dam
114:32.68028°N 85.91083°W
468:United States portal
241:Catchment area
228:Total capacity
119:32.68028; -85.91083
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725:Alabama Power dams
200:20x gated overflow
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250:Surface area
146:Dam and spillways
138:Opening date
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408:(also known as
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343:January 5, 1976
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187:Dam volume
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682:. Retrieved
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661:. Retrieved
635:. Retrieved
631:the original
627:"Martin Dam"
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609:. Retrieved
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582:. Retrieved
552:. Retrieved
548:the original
482:Water portal
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312:327 million
448:each year.
382:Lake Martin
222:Lake Martin
117: /
93:Coordinates
18:Martin Damm
699:Categories
684:2012-05-08
663:2012-05-08
637:2012-05-08
611:1 February
584:2012-05-08
554:2012-05-08
517:References
417:Tallapoosa
362:Martin Dam
340:Designated
235:10 m)
105:85°54′39″W
102:32°40′49″N
79:Tallapoosa
29:Martin Dam
442:megawatts
378:Dadeville
213:Reservoir
196:Spillways
83:Dadeville
452:See also
425:spillway
410:Kowaliga
402:Sousanna
394:Kowaliga
282:Turbines
161:Impounds
71:Location
372:in the
370:Alabama
288:Francis
218:Creates
87:Alabama
63:Country
428:(2.001
421:Elmore
406:Benson
299:182.5
179:Length
171:Height
75:Elmore
602:(PDF)
613:2024
419:and
404:and
141:1926
133:1923
446:KWh
368:in
314:KWh
286:4x
701::
646:^
604:.
563:^
525:^
301:MW
85:,
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687:.
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640:.
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430:×
233:×
20:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
