A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.

22 February 2017

Two dam glory holes

Glory hole spillways often are a feature of concrete arch dams that block narrow canyons. Hungry Horse Dam, built by the Bureau of Reclamation in the early 1950s, has a glory hole, as does another, smaller, BuRec dam, the Monticello Dam in California.

Water behind Monticello is flooding down that dam’s glory hole, as can be seen in this photograph at the Weather Underground. Below that image is my early 1980s photograph of the glory hole at Hungry Horse. The Twistedsifter website has an excellent collection of photographs of dam glory holes.

California Storms

The glory hole spillway in Lake Berryessa behind the Monticello Dam in Napa County, California.

hungry_horse_glory_hole

The glory hole at Hungry Horse dam, photographed in late winter. I used a 24mm lens on a 35mm SLR.