Right, you can tell by the curved structure guiding the water to that route, and the concrete slab at the top is perfect to cause sheet fall toward the natural. Dope design! Whoever proposed that knocked it out of the park
Yeah it looks pretty deliberate given the raised catwalks. They probably just noticed the fact that there was a natural spillway already there and built it with that in mind.
WOW!!!!.I love this so smart Dam`s design!!!.It`s obvious,that while it serves the planned purposes,it keeps leaving the water,to run freely.This way,-(and thanks to this so beautiful waterfall)-, we have the sensation of abundance of water,in a land that looks quiet dry & poor.I wish to go to Wyoming,to visit & to see by myself,this so refreshing spectacle!!!.I LOVE AMERICA!!!.
Shit happens! No flooding here tho... some nice views of a spillway I might say! Should have titled the video to match the content, might have gotten more likes
Came to make this exact comment. I was like...umm, what part of this looks out of control? The dam is holding back the water. The overflow being featured here is just the spillway doing exactly what it was designed to do. This looks like the dam functioning as intended.
The dam is functioning but it is at capacity causing the the overflow to go over the spillway. At this point there is no control of the amount going over the spillway and downstream.
The title's worded as if this is some freak accident. This is not the dam spilling over, this is a spill way in action to prevent the dam from spilling over.
This is a great am video. It's pretty rare when the outlet, service spillway, and emergency spillway are all operating during a flood. And the drone and camera work is great.
This was a good test of the newly-raised spillway, completed in late 2011. The new weir raised the overflow level of the dam, increasing storage capacity to make up for volume lost over the years to silt buildup. Watching Pathfinder overflow via the spillway is a wonderful treat that doesn't happen very often. But when it does, it attracts many visitors. Thanks for the spectacular drone video of the most recent overflow event. It's so nice to be able to see it from a variety of vantage points that would otherwise never be available to us.
There has always been a concrete top that set the precise overflow level for the reservoir at the "natural" spillway. In 2011 the level of this "cap" was raised with a new ogee-shaped weir to increase the capacity of the dam to make up for volume lost to silt buildup. This new ogee-shaped weir also improves the flow regime of water overtopping the weir so that a higher volume of water can smoothly flow over the weir without the level rising to threaten the actual dam. It's a clever way to accommodate a higher water level behind the dam without increasing the risk of overtopping the dam itself during high runoff periods. It's passive, and therefore low maintenance and highly reliable. Every so often, the dam will overflow due to the reservoir being full, and water entering the reservoir faster than the power plant and normal outlets can handle. In those years, water flows over this spillway, and creates a spectacular waterfall as seen in this drone footage. This area is normally quite dry, but the mist from this abnormal waterfall allows moss and other plant life to temporarily exist on the nearby canyon walls, etc. It's a semi-rare treat for people to see it when it's happening.
Oroville dam was in no danger of collaspe... the water you saw coming over the emergency spillway is built on granite, 250 meters or more away from the dam itself.. they were just moving people away downriver of the dam, in case of flooding
I've never heard of this dam or reservoir before this video, but in my opinion it is the most beautiful dam in the world!! What a great example of blending into nature and retaining the beauty of the landscape while serving a purpose.... BEAUTIFUL JOB WYOMING, way to make the rest of us look like dam fulls!!! And yes, Grammer Police ... I know.... (Damn fools) happy!!
Being born and raised in Wyoming, it still blows me away to know that this was constructed from 1905-1909 and how it'll probably stay for another 110 years.
I have traveled to the beautiful state of Wyoming many times but not to this location, its now on my list. Beautiful state and people. Your video is beautiful. Thanks so much.
Wow!!! I've never seen a lake at such capacity, where the natural spillover takes over. That's a thing of beauty. The drone footage of the flyover was spectacular to say the least. Very nice work. 😀👍👍👍
@@LifeinWyoming It's to bad some of that water can be diverted over to lake Mead. That poor place has suffered tremendously since the 80s. Thank you again. Great stuff.
Per the Wikipedia article: "The reservoir has overflowed in 1984, 2010 and 2011 . . . The dam has overflowed again in 2016 . . . " Who commented back in 1984, 2010, 2011, and 2016?
@@ardenkwong5299 haha I went back in time, brought youtube with me and commented before youtube existed It was weird to see my younger self surfing the spillway. I guess I forgot I did that.
Interesting that there's a permanent crane there, wonder if its still operational? Would love to know what the purpose of the cable between the 2 steel towers is for as well. Was hoping you'd get closer to them
This isn't a natural structure. It's a natural looking spillway to safely drain excess water when the reservoir gets full. Practical engineering did a video on these recently. If you want to know more. Cheers, friend.
This would likely be considered an ‘emergency spillway’ only. That kind of flow will eventually result in erosion that needs addressing, which is why proper spillways are designed in the first place.
I think that kind of spill way would be stable for centuries. The dam has been there for a long time already. Especially because it's an emergency spillway. It's a really good design.
Hi Tyler, Incredible scenery, gorgeous looking water too, captured fore ever on video for future generations to gaze upon potentially fore ever. Extreme talent in doing what you did with this video. keep posting ,, I also learned from your post about the FAA Certified Remote Pilot Status, Wicked cool. ps. G.E. is hiring talented operators to video graph Engineering/construction projects
Ohyeah What .....not sticking up for China......this is a different style dam.....it’s an arch dam that is anchored....the China dam is a gravity dam....totally different concepts that need different styles of construction
@Jim Peabody yes. This is true.. In a catastrophic scenario. But this spillover is naturally using the environment along with gravity for a smooth transition. And it's a not a catastrophic scenario. Have a wonderful day.
@@LifeinWyoming My pleasure! That's some amazing footage! Hoping to get out that way to show my wife a few pronghorns on the run! Best of luck to you.... ✌️😎
Pathfinder Dam actually found a different path & asked the river flow thru 🥺. If I ever come to USA il come to watch Andrew Camaratas castle in NY, & Northern states including Wyoming.
This is mother nature under control. It's engineered to do exactly what it's doing.
Yeah that's what lm going to say after our exam in different power plants including this hydroelectric power plant
No fish
Right, you can tell by the curved structure guiding the water to that route, and the concrete slab at the top is perfect to cause sheet fall toward the natural. Dope design! Whoever proposed that knocked it out of the park
That’s dam beautiful.
alex rad loooolol...boom boom, I’ll be here all week (is this turned on, tapping the mike)
Take my like and leave.
1141 indaeyo No idea what that means (I’m sure it’s hysterical though)🤦♂️
@@TheMisterMarilyn I ment it like I hate the pun but it made me chuckle lol
Well damn
Yeah it looks pretty deliberate given the raised catwalks. They probably just noticed the fact that there was a natural spillway already there and built it with that in mind.
one of the most perfect Dam's I've seen, the run-off was designed beautifully looked so natural flowing over the rocks and bonus, no erosion.
Beautiful design with the built in overflow spillway, nice piece of engineering 👍
That is quite possibly the prettiest spillway ever designed.
After 4 years of posting this video, this guy's still replying to comments, Kudos.
Let's see If I get a like from him.
Thanks
@@LifeinWyoming music name please?
Very unique spillway design...Very creative engineering!
WOW!!!!.I love this so smart Dam`s design!!!.It`s obvious,that while it serves the planned purposes,it keeps leaving the water,to run freely.This way,-(and thanks to this so beautiful waterfall)-, we have the sensation of abundance of water,in a land that looks quiet dry & poor.I wish to go to Wyoming,to visit & to see by myself,this so refreshing spectacle!!!.I LOVE AMERICA!!!.
Thanks!
"Cant control mother nature!!!"
Water flows down overspill path like intendet.
So,, actually we can control nature.
Intendet? It’s at Max capacity and there was flooding downstream. I’m sure the flooding was “intended” though.
Shit happens! No flooding here tho... some nice views of a spillway I might say! Should have titled the video to match the content, might have gotten more likes
@@LifeinWyoming yeah flooding downstream in an area that was originally a river. Not the dams fault people are ignorant.
Looks like they're controlling it pretty well - the spillway's working, the dam's holding fast. What's the problem?
Came to make this exact comment. I was like...umm, what part of this looks out of control? The dam is holding back the water. The overflow being featured here is just the spillway doing exactly what it was designed to do. This looks like the dam functioning as intended.
The dam is functioning but it is at capacity causing the the overflow to go over the spillway. At this point there is no control of the amount going over the spillway and downstream.
This damn should be awarded for it’s awesome design. Hats off to the engineers.
The title's worded as if this is some freak accident. This is not the dam spilling over, this is a spill way in action to prevent the dam from spilling over.
This is a great am video. It's pretty rare when the outlet, service spillway, and emergency spillway are all operating during a flood. And the drone and camera work is great.
Thanks!
That's called a natural spillway. It's very functional, and by far the most beautiful to see. Great shot.
Makes me feel small and overwhelmed by the beauty of God's creation.
This was a good test of the newly-raised spillway, completed in late 2011. The new weir raised the overflow level of the dam, increasing storage capacity to make up for volume lost over the years to silt buildup.
Watching Pathfinder overflow via the spillway is a wonderful treat that doesn't happen very often. But when it does, it attracts many visitors.
Thanks for the spectacular drone video of the most recent overflow event. It's so nice to be able to see it from a variety of vantage points that would otherwise never be available to us.
It is a rare event when the designers can see how well their structures work.
Awesome drone work of a beautifully designed dam which functions well even in overflow.
JAMES Rivis thank you and thanks for watching.
Looks like the natural spillway is blocked by a wall of concrete so the water found a way around it. 😄
Nice camera footage 👍
So it wasn’t
Planned ?
There has always been a concrete top that set the precise overflow level for the reservoir at the "natural" spillway.
In 2011 the level of this "cap" was raised with a new ogee-shaped weir to increase the capacity of the dam to make up for volume lost to silt buildup.
This new ogee-shaped weir also improves the flow regime of water overtopping the weir so that a higher volume of water can smoothly flow over the weir without the level rising to threaten the actual dam.
It's a clever way to accommodate a higher water level behind the dam without increasing the risk of overtopping the dam itself during high runoff periods. It's passive, and therefore low maintenance and highly reliable.
Every so often, the dam will overflow due to the reservoir being full, and water entering the reservoir faster than the power plant and normal outlets can handle. In those years, water flows over this spillway, and creates a spectacular waterfall as seen in this drone footage.
This area is normally quite dry, but the mist from this abnormal waterfall allows moss and other plant life to temporarily exist on the nearby canyon walls, etc. It's a semi-rare treat for people to see it when it's happening.
Nice to see a WELL engineered dam!
Wyoming, Most beautiful state in the union. Where even damn overflown are beautiful.
No matter what u built to stop her!! She finds a way to continue her journey! 😘
Beautiful and cool spillway!
This is what Oroville Dam should have done! Nice video...AND I liked the music!
Oroville doesn't have the geography for this.
Thanks!
@@LifeinWyoming no problem 😉🤣
Oroville dam was in no danger of collaspe... the water you saw coming over the emergency spillway is built on granite, 250 meters or more away from the dam itself.. they were just moving people away downriver of the dam, in case of flooding
'Tyler Thies', you are real thief for, you stole my heart. Excellent video and great music to go with it. Please post more videos. Love from India
shashi dhar awesome!!! Thanks for watching!!
You have an excellent idea....your playback music was very great and nostalgic
the soundtrack was copied from a youtube sound library.
@@greghale717 thanks for yo kind response
Whenever im watching ya video....i can sing a song...but i dunno whats that song but my heart knows it
Doing exactly what it was designed to do. Can't ask better.
WoW !! It was a planned natural spillway. It is designed in such a way that it looks like its overflowing.
Technically it is overflowing because the outlet is at max output.
very good idea ,beautiful water fall
Great drone footage and great tunes to go along with it, well done!!!
Thank you!
I've never heard of this dam or reservoir before this video, but in my opinion it is the most beautiful dam in the world!! What a great example of blending into nature and retaining the beauty of the landscape while serving a purpose.... BEAUTIFUL JOB WYOMING, way to make the rest of us look like dam fulls!!!
And yes, Grammer Police ... I know....
(Damn fools) happy!!
Being born and raised in Wyoming, it still blows me away to know that this was constructed from 1905-1909 and how it'll probably stay for another 110 years.
@@rywy77 no kidding!!! I like it even more now!!! And to think it was done without computers, this generation is probably flabbergasted.... Lol
Wow.. The background music too is good so does the video 😊 👌👌👌
That's A cool spillway.
I have traveled to the beautiful state of Wyoming many times but not to this location, its now on my list. Beautiful state and people. Your video is beautiful. Thanks so much.
Beautiful pictures well done cheer's bob.
That's a mighty fine looking construction. I'd call it a work of art. Montana dams fall a damn site short of this artwork.
Awesome footage, thanks for sharing.
Alexander van Wyk thank you!
Great video. Thanks for posting this. Have a nice day.
Thanks! You to!
Spectacular!!! I could watch it all day...
And ps.. this dam surely is the very antithesis of Oroville's dam.. in every way.
sgdeluxedoc thanks.
Wow!!! I've never seen a lake at such capacity, where the natural spillover takes over. That's a thing of beauty. The drone footage of the flyover was spectacular to say the least. Very nice work. 😀👍👍👍
Reggie Longoria thank you! Apparently it is close to flowing over again soon.
@@LifeinWyoming It's to bad some of that water can be diverted over to lake Mead. That poor place has suffered tremendously since the 80s. Thank you again. Great stuff.
Great footage and music. Love that tune. Prolly one of the few country rock tunes I like.
Shimmy Sham thanks for watching!
Interesting emergency spillway design. But it makes sense because it's solid rock.
Win-win for both man and nature.
What lovely clear water!!!
Outstanding footage! Well done!
Thank you. It’s been used in a few documentaries.
3000 thousand likes nice footage and not some crappy music !!
az0970449 thanks! Subscribe if you’d like to. It would be appreciated.
Wikipedia says this dam was first constructed in 1905-1909 and "has been modified several times since then."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathfinder_Dam
Per the Wikipedia article: "The reservoir has overflowed in 1984, 2010 and 2011 . . . The dam has overflowed again in 2016 . . . " Who commented back in 1984, 2010, 2011, and 2016?
@@ardenkwong5299
haha
I went back in time, brought youtube with me and commented before youtube existed
It was weird to see my younger self surfing the spillway. I guess I forgot I did that.
What a beautiful way to make a spillway.
That walkway over the "flood" makes me think that this was controlled at all.
Anyway, it's a great contruction, lanscape and video.
Wonderful place
Beautiful sharing 😍
My headache wanished seeing ur video, wow it's amazing 👏😍💖....I would like to visit dis place atleast once in my life, wait 4 me.
Such a well engineered dam and spillway.
What a beautiful yet terrifying sight.
Interesting that there's a permanent crane there, wonder if its still operational? Would love to know what the purpose of the cable between the 2 steel towers is for as well. Was hoping you'd get closer to them
bjkerp that is some of the original equipment to construct the dam around 1909.
It's amazing how nature finds a way one way or the other
This isn't a natural structure. It's a natural looking spillway to safely drain excess water when the reservoir gets full. Practical engineering did a video on these recently. If you want to know more. Cheers, friend.
Great choice of music keep it coming
This drone footage is incredible!😵
Thank you!
This would likely be considered an ‘emergency spillway’ only. That kind of flow will eventually result in erosion that needs addressing, which is why proper spillways are designed in the first place.
It rarely spills over like this and only lasts a couple of weeks when it does.
@@LifeinWyoming Famous last words...
I think that kind of spill way would be stable for centuries. The dam has been there for a long time already. Especially because it's an emergency spillway. It's a really good design.
Finally an engineering project that works right and is beautiful to watch
Very beautiful.......
Beautiful images👍👏
Hi Tyler, Incredible scenery, gorgeous looking water too, captured fore ever on video for future generations to gaze upon potentially fore ever. Extreme talent in doing what you did with this video. keep posting ,, I also learned from your post about the FAA Certified Remote Pilot Status, Wicked cool. ps. G.E. is hiring talented operators to video graph Engineering/construction projects
W.O.W! (now repeat) WOOOooooooowwww ! Thank you for that. I haven't been this impressed since I got out of the shower dripping wet.
OvalWingNut not sure how easily you are impressed but thanks!
Utterly imaginative and beautiful design. China are you watching ?
Ohyeah What .....not sticking up for China......this is a different style dam.....it’s an arch dam that is anchored....the China dam is a gravity dam....totally different concepts that need different styles of construction
Looks like a challenge for the next extreme kayaker.
Did I just watch a commercial for come to Wyoming!!!
Definitivamente la capacidad del conocimiento humano no tiene limites. !
Para bien o para mal...
Excellent Drone photography Tyler.
Thank you William.
Como casi siempre, brillante gestión hidrológica por parte de los ingenieros y espectacular nivel de necedad del inventor del titulo.
Judging by its design.. This is built to allow the spillover. This is very good engineering..
Manny B. Coronado correct. The height was increased by a couple feet a few years back as well.
@Jim Peabody yes. This is true.. In a catastrophic scenario. But this spillover is naturally using the environment along with gravity for a smooth transition. And it's a not a catastrophic scenario. Have a wonderful day.
I thought that very thing while watching the video.
This was a very beautiful video. Great choice of music as well
Great shots, I love the way you flew and shot the whole scene!
Dirk Boersma thanks!
Beautiful!
elliven twennisixx 👍🏻
Best natural spillway I've ever seen!
Josh McCoy it’s very cool to see. Thanks for watching.
I like the one who posted this.
Still replying even after how many years.
God bless you. Message me back😂
Thanks
Beautiful power of nature
👍 Wonderful Wyoming! Thanks! 🤠
Mike Gustafson thanks for watching!
@@LifeinWyoming My pleasure! That's some amazing footage! Hoping to get out that way to show my wife a few pronghorns on the run! Best of luck to you.... ✌️😎
Mike Gustafson there are plenty to see and lots of fawns right now to!
Wow. Amazing!
That is really Great video!
So Beautiful.
They call it, spillway. Intelligently designed.
So beautiful and that music elevates it above and beyond
This is beautiful ❤️
that's my impression.....the dam and spillway is doing what it was designed to do. Yeah, extra rain, ok, but the dam and spillway system did its job.
More specifically that is the emergency spillway.
And yet, here it is, controlled.
Until there’s too much and it spills over. At that point there’s no control anymore.
Lord Telperion...Just what I was thinking.
@@LifeinWyoming except the spillway is still a method of control.
Yup, looks like the dam is functioning exactly as designed.
Matthew Duncan say there was a massive rain upstream at this point. There is no way to hold back the volume outflow when it gets to this amount.
Wowwwww so beautiful
The reservoir is living up to its namesake.
Pathfinder Dam actually found a different path & asked the river flow thru 🥺.
If I ever come to USA il come to watch Andrew Camaratas castle in NY, & Northern states including Wyoming.
Good video and thanks for sharing.
Charlie Austin thanks for watching.
The classical is spectacular
Awesome swimming place ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The song is , Now that i know you, by Jan Boyle. but listen to "Sixth avenue Heartbreak" by the Wallflowers. She ripped them off big time!
I thought it was the muzak version
Now that's amazing..... thx for posting. Great music.
Christopher Jon Martin Yee haw I reckon had to go make a mayonnaise sandwich to honor this video!
This is an engineered overflow spillway... so not a great example of uncontrolled nature.
When it's at capacity and the gates are open and still taking more water, control of what goes downstream is not possible.
@@LifeinWyoming yes ✅
@@LifeinWyoming _g
If you have to have a dam, this is a beautiful design. Thanks for the superb aerial footage.
Mark Mcfrederick thank you!
Looks like a pretty well worn path that water is taking.
Did they not think this would happen? Put a lever around the dam but not the walkway? Crazy
Sandra Leishman it’s all designed that way and it’s meant to spill over under the walkway.
favorite place on earth. Awesome video man
Thank you! I love it out there to.
Great shots! Love it
Rafedial1 thank you!
But it looks like it's supposed to do that. It's design is clear to see. Cool video.
sjh0010 it absolutely is designed for that. Thanks for watching.
That's amazing... Gorgeous video! I subscribe...