The Teton Dam is a wondrous man-made entity, providing boundless amounts of water to the farmers and cheap hydro-electric power to us all.
Oh wait, that was the intent back in 1976, until it fell apart as it was almost full…
Wilford, Sugar City, Salem, Hibbard and Rexburg were hit with 2,000,000 cubic feet of water per second, spilling from what used to be the Teton Dam.
The collapse of the dam resulted in the deaths of 14 people and 13,000 head of cattle. The dam cost $100 million to build, and the federal government paid over $300 million in claims related to the dam failure.
More than 200 families were left homeless, with an estimated $400 million, to one billion dollars, in property damage.
btw: These photos were taken within 24 hours of this post, as are 99% of the photos that appear here…
SlideShow (Teton Dam)