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South Fork Dam Choose another wonder
Location: Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA Completion Date: 1852 Cost: $166,647 Reservoir Capacity: 2.7 million cubic feet Type: Embankment Purpose: Water supply for canal, recreation Reservoir: Lake Conemaugh Misc: collapsed 1889 Materials: Rock, clay Engineer(s): Sylvester Welsh On the afternoon of May 31, 1889, a private dam in western Pennsylvania burst, sending 20 million gallons of water and debris into the unsuspecting town of Johnstown with the force of a tidal wave. The catastrophe killed 2,209 people, left thousands homeless, and transformed the prospering city of Johnstown into a virtual wasteland.
Before it burst, South Fork Dam held back Lake Conemaugh, the pleasure lake of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. It was an embankment dam made of clay, boulders, and dirt. Through the years, the spillway became clogged with trees and other floating debris. When it started raining on Memorial Day in 1889, the lake swelled and seeped over the top of the structure. The earth-and-rock structure collapsed, releasing a thunderous wave 40 feet high and half a mile wide into the valley. Water slammed into Johnstown with the force of Niagara Falls. It carried huge amounts of debris, including houses, barns, animals, and people. The wave destroyed the city in 10 minutes. The South Fork Dam collapsed because the spillway was poorly maintained. Today, large dams and their spillways are inspected frequently by qualified engineers. Here's how this dam stacks up against some of the biggest dams in the world.(reservoir capacity, in cubic feet)
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