Bighorn Dam is a dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 located in Clearwater County

Clearwater County, Alberta

Clearwater County is a municipal district in west central Alberta, Canada in Division No. 9. Its northwest boundary is the Brazeau River. The municipal seat is located in the town of Rocky Mountain House, which is enclaved within, and technically outside the bounds of the county...

 in west-central Alberta

Central Alberta

Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was built by TransAlta

TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation is a power generation and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta.TransAlta maintains a low-to-moderate risk profile by operating a highly contracted portfolio of assets in Canada, the United States and Australia...

 Corporation in 1972, and lead to the creation of Lake Abraham, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

's largest man-made lake.

The plant is one of two TransAlta hydroelectric plant

Hydropower

Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...

s on the North Saskatchewan River

North Saskatchewan River

The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows east from the Canadian Rockies to central Saskatchewan. It is one of two major rivers that join to make up the Saskatchewan River....

 System in Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

. The Bighorn Plant generates more electricity each year than any of TransAlta's other hydro plants, enough to supply the equivalent of 58,300 Alberta households.

The Bighorn embankment dam

Embankment dam

An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...

 was built in 1972 in the mountain gap at Windy Point, in the Front Ranges of the Canadian Rockies

Canadian Rockies

The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...

, west of the confluence of the North Saskatchewan River and the Bighorn River

Bighorn River (Alberta)

The Bighorn River is a short river originating in the Alberta foothills, and is a tributary of the North Saskatchewan River. The river, as well as the nearby Bighorn Range and Bighorn Dam are named for the Bighorn sheep which dominate the area...

.