Stave Falls Dam, Hydroelectric power station and national historic site in Mission, Canada
Stave Falls Dam is a hydroelectric power station and national historic site located along the Stave River in Mission, featuring three dams, a powerhouse, and a switchyard. The facility operates two Kaplan turbines with an installed capacity of 90 megawatts to supply electricity to the Lower Mainland region.
The British Columbia Electric Railway Company built the Stave Falls installation between 1909 and 1912, marking an important step forward in hydroelectric technology. This construction helped bring electric power to communities across the Lower Mainland.
The powerhouse functions as a museum where you can see the original horizontal double-Francis turbine generators alongside exhibits about how electricity developed in this region.
The site is accessible by road from Mission and offers viewpoints where you can see the dam structure and the surrounding landscape. It is good to wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for changing weather, as conditions can shift quickly in this area.
The structure combines concrete gravity and rock-fill construction methods, an engineering approach that was innovative for its time. This design allowed engineers to work with the landscape while maximizing the water's power generation potential.
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