Mica Dam

Mica Dam
Aerial view of the Mica Dam
Location within British Columbia
Location	Mica Creek, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates	52°04′40″N 118°33′59″W / 52.07778°N 118.56639°W / 52.07778; -118.56639
Construction began	1967[1]
Opening date	March 23, 1973[1]
Owner(s)	BC Hydro
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment dam
Impounds	Columbia River
Height	240 m (787 ft)
Reservoir
Creates	Kinbasket Lake
Total capacity	24.762 km3 (20,075,000 acre⋅ft)[2]
Surface area	430 km2 (170 sq mi)
Power Station
Commission date	1976–1977[3]
Turbines	6[4]
Installed capacity	2,805 MW
Capacity factor	29.3%
Annual generation	7,200 GWh[5][6]

Mica Dam is a hydroelectric embankment dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. It was built as one of three Canadian projects under the terms of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty and is operated by BC Hydro. Completed in 1973, the Mica powerhouse had an original generating capacity of 1,805 megawatts (MW). Mica Dam, named after the nearby settlement of Mica Creek and its associated stream, in turn named after the abundance of mica minerals in the area, is one of the largest earthfill dams in the world. The reservoir created by the dam is Kinbasket Lake. Water from the dam flows south directly into Revelstoke Lake, the reservoir for the Revelstoke Dam. Mica Dam is the tallest dam in Canada and second tallest in North America after the Chicoasén Dam in Mexico and it is the farthest upstream dam on the Columbia River.^[7] The dam's underground powerhouse was the second largest in the world at the time of its construction, and was the first 500 kV installation of sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) insulated switchgear in the world.^[8]