Lake Sakakawea

Lake Sakakawea. Indian Hills. With the flooding of the reservoir, the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold sought to have a Native American honored in naming the lake, particularly after having given up much of their prime agricultural land to the reservoir. Finally, on July 5, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed an act of Congress officially naming the reservoir Lake Sakakawea and formalizing the name of Garrison Dan. Several months later, State Highway Commissioner Walter Hjelle, in announcing that the name Lake Sakakawea would appear on 1968 state road maps, observed that while geographic name changes are not accepted by the public, this one probably would be since the lake's importance causes the name to be used frequently. , At the time of the dam's construction, federal agencies has reached an understanding of naming the reservoir Lake Thompson, for Sivert W. Thompson of Devils Lake (1889-1962), a member of the State Water Conservation Committee and a State Highway Commissioner. who had been recognized in 1949 for his water development work as the "Father of Missouri River Diversion." , , Antelope Valley and Renner Trench are two large glacial meltwater channels located on the south side of Lake Sakakawea. They were probably formed during the early Wisconsinan era about 40,000 years ago. Glacial meltwater in these trenched eroded through the 15-foot thick Beulah-Zaplignite bed, removing about 635 million tons of mineable coal. This area is presently part of the Coteau Properties' Freedom Mine, a tripping operation that presently serves the Antelope Valley Power Station, as well as Dakota Gasification Company's Great Plains Synfuels Plant. , Side-bar on left: , With the completion of the Garrison Dam in 1955, flooding began of what was designated as the Garrison Reservoir. The new lake extended 180 miles to the vicinity of Williston, the actual length depending upon the water level. The total storage capacity is 2.38 million acre-feet. , The shoreline of the lake extends for roughly 1,300 miles, making it one of the largest man-made lakes in the United States. It contains about 32 percent of the total water stored by the six Missouri River mainstream reservoirs.