Lock and Dam No. 19
Encyclopedia
Lock and Dam No. 19 is a lock
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...

 and dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 located on the Upper
Upper Mississippi River
The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of Cairo, Illinois, United States. From the headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, the river flows approximately 2000 kilometers to Cairo, where it is joined by the Ohio River to form the Lower Mississippi...

 Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 near Keokuk
Keokuk, Iowa
Keokuk is a city in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Iowa and one of the county seats of Lee County. The other county seat is Fort Madison. The population was 11,427 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the Sauk Chief Keokuk, who is thought to be buried in Rand Park...

, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

. In 2004, the facility was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 as Lock and Dam No. 19 Historic District, #04000179 covering 1605 acres (6.5 km²), 7 buildings, 12 structures, 1 object. The lock is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dam is owned and operated by Ameren UE.

The lock and dam obliterated the Des Moines Rapids
Des Moines Rapids
The Des Moines Rapids between Nauvoo, Illinois and Keokuk, Iowa-Hamilton, Illinois is one of two major rapids on the Mississippi River that limited Steamboat traffic on the river through the early 19th century....

 which had effectively been the northern barrier for traffic on the Mississippi until efforts began in 1837 to address the Mississippi's 2.5 foot (0.762 m) depth in the rapids.

Locks

The main lock was constructed from 1952 to 1957 and is 1200 feet (365.8 m) long and 110 feet (33.5 m) wide with a lift of just over 38 feet (11.6 m) and large enough to handle a full-length fleet of barges. It was put into operation in 1957 at a cost of 13.5 million dollars. The 1957 lock replaced a 1910-1913 lock. The 1913 lock was a variant of the standardized Panama canal design and was 110 feet (33.5 m) wide, 358 feet (109.1 m) long and 57 feet (17.4 m) tall with a 40 feet (12.2 m) lift. There was a 130 feet (39.6 m) wide, 463 feet (141.1 m) long and 20 feet (6.1 m) deep dry dock at the site, both the dry dock and 1913 lock were dewatered in 1977 when a sheet pile and cell closure were built blocking the upstream sides of the lock and dry dock.

With a 38 feet (11.6 m) difference between the normal pool above and below the dam, the lock has the highest "step" in the stairway of the Rock Island District locks and dams. The lock and dam, as well as the rest of the river, can be viewed from a distance on the Observation Deck of the Keokuk Rail Bridge
Keokuk Rail Bridge
The Keokuk Bridge, also known as the Keokuk & Hamilton Bridge, carries a double deck single track railway and highway bridge across the Mississippi River in the USA between Keokuk, Iowa and Hamilton, Illinois, just downstream of Mississippi Lock and Dam number 19...

.

Dam

The movable portion of the dam is 4620 feet (1,408.2 m) long with 119 separate 30 feet (9.1 m) rectangular, steel-skin plated, sliding gates and its construction began in 1910, and when completed in 1913. The gates are either installed or removed and river flow is controlled by the number of gates installed. They are removed by a gantry crane that travels on the service bridge above the dam. At the time it was completed it was second in length only to the Aswan Low Dam
Aswan Low Dam
The Aswan Low Dam or Old Aswan Dam is a gravity masonry buttress dam on the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt. The dam was built at the former first cataract of the Nile, and is located about 1000 km up-river and 690 km south-southeast of Cairo...

 on the Nile River. Hugh L. Cooper was the designer of the Keokuk Dam. The pool created behind the dam, Lake Cooper, is named in his honor and is the largest pool in the series of dams with 240 miles (386.2 km) of shoreline.

Powerhouse

Construction began in 1910, and when completed in 1913, it was the largest capacity, single powerhouse electricity generating plant in the world. The Power House and spillways are owned and operated by Ameren Power Company
Ameren
Ameren Corporation was created December 31, 1997 by the merger of Missouri's Union Electric Company and the neighboring Central Illinois Public Service Company . It is now a holding company for several power companies and energy companies. The company is based in St...

 and has a 134 MW capacity.https://www.ameren.com/AboutUs/ADC_AU_FactSheet.pdf The powerhouse contains 15 generators, originally designed to produce 25 Hz instead of the 60 Hz alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....

 used today. Lock and Dam No. 1
Lock and Dam No. 1, Mississippi River
Ford Dam, officially known as Lock and Dam No. 1 is on the Upper Mississippi River and is located between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota just north of the confluence of the Mississippi with the Minnesota River...

, Lock and Dam No. 2
Lock and Dam No. 2
Lock and Dam No. 2 is located along the Upper Mississippi River near Hastings, Minnesota and was originally built in 1907. The eastern dam portion is 722 feet wide and has 19 tainter gates. A hydroelectric station that produces about 4.4 megawatts is owned by the city of Hastings, while the 110...

 and the upper St. Anthony Falls dam
Saint Anthony Falls
Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony, located northeast of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the only natural major waterfall on the Upper Mississippi River. The natural falls was replaced by a concrete overflow spillway after it partially collapsed in 1869...

 also produce electricity.

See also

  • Keokuk Rail Bridge
    Keokuk Rail Bridge
    The Keokuk Bridge, also known as the Keokuk & Hamilton Bridge, carries a double deck single track railway and highway bridge across the Mississippi River in the USA between Keokuk, Iowa and Hamilton, Illinois, just downstream of Mississippi Lock and Dam number 19...

  • Keokuk-Hamilton Bridge
    Keokuk-Hamilton Bridge
    The Keokuk-Hamilton bridge is a steel girder, 4-lane bridge from Keokuk, Iowa to Hamilton, Illinois. It carries U.S. Route 136 across the Mississippi River....


External links

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