Moyie Dam, Gravity dam in Boundary County, Idaho, United States.
Moyie Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Moyie River in northern Idaho, in Boundary County. It stands about 92 feet (28 meters) tall and channels water to three hydroelectric powerhouses located downstream.
A first dam was built on this site in 1923 but suffered a breach during a flood in 1925. The current structure was completed in 1950 to replace it.
The dam supplies hydroelectric power directly to the nearby city of Bonners Ferry, making it one of the few municipally owned power sources in Idaho. The river below the dam is popular with anglers and people who enjoy spending time along the forested banks.
The dam can be viewed from outside and the surrounding river area is generally accessible to visitors on foot. A visit during the warmer months is advisable, as roads and trails in this part of northern Idaho can be difficult to reach in winter.
The 1923 dam was a thin-arch structure, a design that makes a dam much lighter than a solid gravity dam, and it breached in 1925 without fully collapsing. That rare outcome drew the attention of engineers and became a reference case in dam failure studies.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
