Tuttle Creek Lake in January 2006

Tuttle Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir on the Big Blue River 5 miles (8 km) north of Manhattan, Kansas in the Flint Hills region of Northeast Kansas. It was built and operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. Gelmersee is a reservoir in Switzerland. ... The Big Blue River. ... Riley County Courthouse, Manhattan Manhattan is a town located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. ... The Flint Hills are a group of hills in eastern Kansas, extending from Marshall County in the north, to Cowley County in the south. ... Official language(s) English Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  Ranked 15th  - Total 82,277 sq. ... United States Army Corps of Engineers logo The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is made up of some 34,600 military men and women. ...

Geography

The border between Riley County, Kansas and Pottawatomie County, Kansas is submerged underneath the lake, with Riley County on the West and Potawatamie County on the East. The longest bridge in Kansas spans its northern tip. Riley County (standard abbreviation: RL) is a county located in the state of Kansas. ... Pottawatomie County (standard abbreviation: PT) is a county located in the state of Kansas. ... A compass rose with west highlighted This article refers to the cardinal direction; for other uses see West (disambiguation). ... The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST, internally called HT-7U) is a project being undertaken to construct an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, in eastern China. ... A log bridge in the French Alps near Vallorcine. ...

History

The construction of the dam was given impetus by the Great Flood of 1951, which inundated downtown Manhattan. Nevertheless, the project met with heavy opposition from landowners whose land faced flooding. When the lake began filling up in 1962, it affected 10 towns and entirely submerged many of them. The only one of these submerged towns to rebuild elsewhere was Randolph, Kansas where many of the streets are named after other towns that were submerged. The remnants of "Old Randolph" as its known localy, can still be seen partially submerged to this day. In mid-July 1951, heavy rains led to a great rise in the Kansas River and other surrounding areas. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Randolph is a city located in Riley County, Kansas. ...

Tuttle Creek spillway after 1993 flood

The value of the dam was proven during the Great Flood of 1993, when floodwaters reaching up to 63 feet (19 m) above normal were held back. However, when the dam reached capacity in July 1993, it necessitated the first release of the spillway. All 18 gates on the spillway were raised 4 feet (1.2 m) during the peak of the flood producing a flow rate of 60,000 cubic feet per second (1700 m³/s). The roar of the water was audible half a mile (800 m) away and some people in nearby Manhattan reported hearing the noise. After three weeks the gates were closed, revealing a 20-foot deep canyon that had been carved in the earth of the spillway channel. The exposed rock is 290 million years old. Localy, this area is known as "The Canyon" and is a popular fossil hunting area. The Great Flood of 1993 was a huge, costly, and devastating flood that occurred in the American Midwest from April to October of 1993. ... Spillway of Llyn Brianne dam in Wales A Spillway is a structure used to provide for the controlled release of flood flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that has been dammed. ... The cubic foot (symbols ft³, cu. ... A mile is any of a number of units of distance, each in the magnitude of 1–10 km. ... A fossil Ammonite Fossils (from Latin fossus, literally having been dug up) are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms. ...

Earthquake threat

Although Kansas is not widely known as seismically active, the Humboldt fault line associated with the Nemaha Ridge passes through eastern Kansas, and probably the most active region on the line is in the general vicinity of the lake. It was recently determined that the geology of the area could potentially produce an earthquake capable of causing the dam to fail, which could risk the lives of thousands downstream in the Blue River and Kansas River valleys. The Army Corps of Engineers has started a project to strengthen the dam sufficiently to withstand such a quake [1]. Old fault exposed by roadcut near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. ... The Blue Marble: The famous photo of the Earth taken en route to the Moon by Apollo 17s Harrison Schmitt on December 7, 1972. ... An earthquake is a phenomenon that results from and is powered by the sudden release of stored energy that radiates seismic waves. ... The Kansas River near De Soto and Lenape, Kansas The Kansas (or Kaw) River is a river in eastern Kansas in the United States. ...

External links

• The Army Corps of Engineers Tuttle Creek Lake page
• Overhead photo of spillway channel canyon