Canyon Ferry Lake
Encyclopedia
Canyon Ferry Lake is a reservoir on the Missouri River
near Helena, Montana
and Townsend, Montana
. It is Montana's third largest body of water, covering 35,181 acres (142 km²) and 76 miles (122 km) of shore (1). The dam
was completed in 1954 and has been used for electricity, irrigation, and flood controls since. It is a popular outdoor destination among those in southwestern Montana
providing boating, fishing, and is nestled against the Big Belt Mountains
of the Rocky Mountains
. Canyon Ferry Lake has also become a leading ice boat
venue for iceboat racing
and iceboat world speed record attempts. The former town of Canton
lies beneath the lake, having being submerged following construction of the dam in 1954.
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
near Helena, Montana
Helena, Montana
Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...
and Townsend, Montana
Townsend, Montana
Townsend is a city in and the county seat of Broadwater County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,867 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. It is Montana's third largest body of water, covering 35,181 acres (142 km²) and 76 miles (122 km) of shore (1). The dam
Canyon Ferry Dam
Canyon Ferry Dam is a concrete gravity dam in a narrow valley of the Missouri River where the Big Belt Mountains and the Spokane Hills merge, approximately downstream from the confluence of the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson Rivers, and about east of the city of Helena, Montana...
was completed in 1954 and has been used for electricity, irrigation, and flood controls since. It is a popular outdoor destination among those in southwestern Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
providing boating, fishing, and is nestled against the Big Belt Mountains
Big Belt Mountains
The Big Belt Mountains are a section of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Montana. Situated mainly in the Helena National Forest, the mountains are used for logging and recreation for the surrounding residents. Nearby is Helena, Montana, Canyon Ferry Lake, the Missouri River, Townsend,...
of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. Canyon Ferry Lake has also become a leading ice boat
Ice boat
An ice boat is a boat or purpose-built framework similar in functional design to a sail boat but fitted with skis or runners and designed to run over ice instead of through water. Ice yachting is the sport of sailing and racing iceboats. Sailable ice is known in the sport as "hard water" versus...
venue for iceboat racing
Ice yachting
Ice yachting is the sport of sailing and racing iceboats, also called ice yachts. It is practiced in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Norway and Sweden, to some extent, and is very popular in the Netherlands and on the Gulf of Finland, but its highest development is in the United States and...
and iceboat world speed record attempts. The former town of Canton
Canton, Montana
Canton was a small town in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, now submerged beneath Canyon Ferry Lake near Helena, Montana. The town was flooded when nearby Canyon Ferry Dam, originally built in 1898 to provide electricity for Helena, was replaced by a second, larger dam which began construction in...
lies beneath the lake, having being submerged following construction of the dam in 1954.