If you head up past to La Grande, there are some nice spots to stop and see Alder dam. This is a shot of it while is was being built in 1944. Construction was complete in 1945.
Here are a few Alder Dam facts.
High as a 24-story building
If you stood at the base of Alder Dam, it would tower 285 feet above you and extend 45 feet below you. It was one of the tallest dams in the United States when Tacoma Power finished it in 1945. It’s four and a half football fields long.
Water’s power
Water from Alder Lake plunges down large pipes, called penstocks, and spins two turbine generators inside the powerhouse. The resulting electricity travels along a 25 mile-long transmission line to Tacoma.
Once upon a glacier
Five glaciers on Mount Rainier feed the Nisqually River, which flows 27 miles before reaching Alder Lake. Melting glacial ice gives the river and lake a unique color.
Dam strong
The dam was constructed with enough concrete to fill 42,000 dump trucks. Alder Dam is 15 feet thick at the top and 120 feet thick at the base. (Per www.waymarking.com)
If you want to own this picture, it’s currently for sale for only $11 on ebay.com.
Eatonville To Rainier 
3 responses to “Building Alder Dam – 1944”
[…] he suffered from headaches for the rest of his life. Even so, he designed the overflow tunnels for Alder Dam and constructed houses at Fort Lewis. Scott and Annie (Mensik) Turner had three children: […]
LikeLike
I grew up in La Grand my dad was a plant operator my brothers and I played tennis on the roof of the alder house power house
LikeLike
What a great memory. Thank you! – Do you have any pictures you’d like to share?
LikeLike