What Happened Here? Wall of Water Disaster

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  • Опубліковано 3 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 120

  • @PinInTheAtlas
    @PinInTheAtlas  2 місяці тому +11

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    • @chadsimmons6347
      @chadsimmons6347 23 години тому

      wooden stairway was for employee access to do construction,,probably built several of them from upper
      parking lots,,the square holes in cement were they built around crane support towers (thankx-4-uploading)

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  14 годин тому

      @ thanks for the info Chad

  • @allenra530
    @allenra530 3 дні тому +22

    That spillway structure was never used. The water didn't get up to it. The cliff on the north side was fractured, but they pumped grout into the cracks for several weeks. They thought that the grout curtain was deep enough to prevent the water from seeping through. It was not. The water began to seep through under the grout and began to come out along the north side where the dam met the rock. It started to wash the core of the dam away there and after nearly a week the engineers knew that they had a problem. They had no idea just how bad the problem was until water really began to come out over there. That was when they sent the bulldozers over there and called the Sheriff's office to tell them to begin evacuation of the areas downstream. The claim that the materials used in the dam were substandard is untrue. There are hundreds of dams in the US, built in the same way with the same materials, that have never had a problem. The center section was deliberately dug out to examine the intact structure, to determine if the problem was with the design or with the materials. They found that there was no material flaw and no design flaw. The problem was in the Geologic structure of the north wall of the canyon. They did not have the ground penetrating radar and other Geophysics detection equipment that would have told them that the cracks went far deeper into the cliff and deeper below the foundation of the dam than they thought. That equipment did not exist back then. Their remedy for the fracturing was established practice, but it didn't go far enough. I have been to the site several times and one of my coworkers at the INL/ICP was in the Idaho National Guard photoreconnaissance unit that did all of the aerial photos of the disaster. It was a dreadful event and no one who was here at the time has ever forgotten it. It is a haunting place, especially in the winter, when there is snow and ice all over it.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +5

      @@allenra530 thank you for all the info Allen. A very sad day. Couldn’t even begin to imagine what those people went through.

    • @august2197
      @august2197 День тому +2

      @@allenra530 thank you for this explanation. Tragic event for sure.

    • @d2sfavs
      @d2sfavs 12 годин тому +1

      has anyone done a video of the spot where the erosion started like a close up and a walk through including the hydro plant system.that would be neat to see

  • @davidleslie1963
    @davidleslie1963 3 дні тому +24

    I grew up in Rexburg and experienced this. My wife is originally from Sugar City. Her family lost everything. Quite the adventure...My family was lucky with just a little damage.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +4

      @@davidleslie1963 it must have been so frightening. We can’t imagine the feeling and losing everything too.

    • @davidleslie1963
      @davidleslie1963 2 дні тому +7

      @@PinInTheAtlas It was unreal. We were in Los Angeles that morning and when we heard the Teeetun dam broke (they said it wrong on the news) we didn't realize it was the Teton Dam. We arrived late in the day after 10 hour drive and found the whole valley just full of little lakes which slowly disappeared over the next few days. I still remember the smell of the mud! Thanks for showing this!

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  2 дні тому +1

      @ you’re welcome David

  • @Memo-Lemon
    @Memo-Lemon 2 дні тому +12

    The side wall rock of the canyon wasn’t meant for a damn. The water leaked through the rocks and engineers had already had concerns about their failure.

    • @amystaggs5303
      @amystaggs5303 16 годин тому

      I was looking at that to. Way too porous rock....

  • @beverlyreiner-baillargeon6205
    @beverlyreiner-baillargeon6205 День тому +5

    Very interesting story about something I knew nothing about, and I'm 64 years old. Thanks 🇺🇲🇺🇲

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  День тому +2

      @@beverlyreiner-baillargeon6205 you’re welcome Beverly. Glad you enjoyed it

  • @lesleyrobbins1137
    @lesleyrobbins1137 3 дні тому +10

    Horrible scary. Can you imagine that wall of water coming at you? I'm never living downstream from a dam.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +3

      @@lesleyrobbins1137 our sentiments exactly Lesley

    • @GWNorth-db8vn
      @GWNorth-db8vn 2 дні тому +1

      I grew up half a mile below a dam, and this was the first time it ever occurred to me that things like this could happen. It's just there.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  2 дні тому +1

      @ scary stuff!

    • @jcolbyt82
      @jcolbyt82 14 годин тому

      Dams that are built like they should be aren’t a thing to be feared. The Teton dam was a disaster in the making long before the first gallon of water backed up behind the dam. First, during excavation of the foundation and the key trench, many large fissures, some of which were called caves on subsequent reports, were discovered both underneath the key trench and at the right abutment. They pumped an enormous volume of grout in but did NOT grout the caves because they were deeper than the foundation key trench. That’s right, they left CAVES open just under the foundation of a huge dam. Once the reservoir started to fill, it was filling way too fast considering that the dam was brand new and this was its first filling. That was due to the fact that the outlet worms weren’t fully ready for operation and spring runoff was much larger than normal. The reservoir was huge! It was filling at 4 feet per day at one point. Early in the reservoir filling process new springs started flowing in the valley immediately below the dam. Initially there wasn’t a great deal of worry since the water was clear, indicating that there was no internal erosion of soil. Once the reservoir had reached capacity, muddy water started to emerge from some of the springs, quickly followed by a wet spot forming on the main wall near the right abutment. The rest of the story is well known and didn’t take long to develop.

  • @extremecowgirl3629
    @extremecowgirl3629 2 дні тому +5

    Land reclamation is definitely a joke. I'm from PA, lots I'd mining history. It's a past that is continuing to haunt the state, despite "reclamation ". It's going to get much worse as the mines age. The so-called Reclamation will plug up Portals, But the miles and miles of tunnels remain. They will cap shafts using less than great cement and rebar, And then build right on top of them. Then they do crappy landscaping, and build "settling ponds" that ether don't work at all, aren't maintained and fail quickly, or the mine drainage simply bypasses them completely. As a history explorer, I see it all the time. Don't get me started on some of pennsylvania's "superfund sites"...
    Corruption and greed.
    Just like like the great Johnstown flood, caused by a dam doomed to fail, built by the rich (think, the Carnegies) that killed ALOT of people. It's a familiar story.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  2 дні тому +2

      @@extremecowgirl3629 it’s a shame when so many of the disasters could be prevented

  • @trishaporte
    @trishaporte 2 дні тому +3

    Thank you.
    I had not heard about the damn failure, or maybe just forgot about it since I didn’t live close.
    After watching your video, I had to start googling to find out mire.
    How very devastating for those living in and around the area!

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  2 дні тому +2

      @@trishaporte yes, couldn’t begin to imagine what they must have gone through

  • @brettdavis4269
    @brettdavis4269 10 годин тому +1

    My family has been living here since the late 1800’s and we were living directly in the path of the water just a couple Emile’s from where it first came out of the canyon. Everything gone in the blink of an eye. Had this taken place in the middle of the night my entire family would have been erased from existence. The cut in the damn on the side opposite the spillway didn’t wash away; it was removed as part of the investigation into the collapse. I could tell you some very personal detailed stories about many people who lost their livelihood and some who lost family members. We could spend an entire day touring and showing you things to bring those details into perspective. When you know the personal details the magnitude of it really hits home. Feel free to reach out if you ever want to learn a little more from the survivors of that debacle.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  10 годин тому

      Can’t even begin to imagine what those people went through.
      Thank you for sharing

  • @Dang_Cool
    @Dang_Cool 3 дні тому +5

    Remember this well. I knew immediately what this was about. Lived just down the way in Blackfoot but we had family in Rexburg. We were fortunate in the area we lived in Blackfoot, we didn’t get any damage. But Ido remember all the people that did. This Damn break caused issues for miles and miles. So you were in my neck of the woods again. So enjoy watching you guys. Thanks again!

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +1

      @@Dang_Cool appreciate that, thank you. Glad you enjoyed the video. Couldn’t begin to imagine what it must have been like for those poor people.

    • @Dang_Cool
      @Dang_Cool 3 дні тому +1

      It was, a very difficult time for so many.

  • @joeya.4849
    @joeya.4849 3 дні тому +2

    Astonishingly tragic. Reminds me of the St Francis Dam site and its failure near Santa Clarita. Thanks for sharing this!

  • @richardbeee
    @richardbeee 3 дні тому +1

    Thanks!

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому

      @@richardbeee ❤️

    • @richardbeee
      @richardbeee 3 дні тому +1

      @PinInTheAtlas just trying to help. Hope you and yours have a happy new year. Peace

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +1

      @ happy new year Richard

  • @richardbeee
    @richardbeee 3 дні тому +10

    Got ya twice. Thanks for sharing this video. It's amazing that all the dams they've built that this is one to break. There was another one many years ago in southern California that did also. Again greed, and government oversight.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +1

      @@richardbeee don’t know about the other one. Glad you enjoyed our explore and thanks for the super thanks too ❤️

    • @richardbeee
      @richardbeee 3 дні тому

      @PinInTheAtlas It watered I want to say San Diego. It may have been where the swallow are? 🤔

    • @trishaporte
      @trishaporte 2 дні тому +1

      @@PinInTheAtlas Maybe Santa Clarita??

    • @WDGFE
      @WDGFE 13 хвилин тому

      St. Francis Dam, if I’m spelling that correctly.

  • @rhondaz356
    @rhondaz356 3 дні тому +5

    After reading the comment of one of your viewer's info, which seemed really knowledgeable, I feel ***better that almost half a century ago the technology available was not what it is today.😢
    ***It's really the ONLY way to accept this horrible tragedy.
    Thank you Andrea and Steven, and guests, for bringing this to the attention of some of us. You certainly brought us with you to the original sites, sketchy as they are. I found that the film clips told everything. EXCELLENT job as always, Andrea and Steven.
    I am going to wish you, your families and friends, and all of your viewers a blessed, healthy, safe, happy New Year.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  2 дні тому +2

      @@rhondaz356 thank you so much Rhonda. Really appreciate all your comments and wishing you a very happy new year. See you on our next adventure

  • @amystaggs5303
    @amystaggs5303 16 годин тому +2

    Driveins were the best!!!!! Miss the hell out of them...

  • @lornahardin4563
    @lornahardin4563 3 дні тому +3

    Too sad, I've been to Swan Falls Dam in Idaho, way down in the canyon, birds of prey nest on the canyon walls. Beautiful to see. Steven and Andrea you have a wonderful and exciting New Year, will be looking forward to more trips. Andrea, love your hair like that. Oh, Lee is handsome and love his boots.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +2

      @@lornahardin4563 thanks Lorna. We had been dog sitting.
      Lots of explores for 2025. Happy New Year and we’ll see you on our next adventure

  • @DecayWithUs
    @DecayWithUs 2 дні тому +5

    DAMN I saw something huge on that dam!

    • @DecayWithUs
      @DecayWithUs 2 дні тому +2

      Happy new year! 2025 is gonna be your year!

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  2 дні тому +2

      @@DecayWithUs thank you. Happy New Year to both of you 🥳

  • @SteveZeko-nr6uy
    @SteveZeko-nr6uy 3 дні тому +3

    Good job very professionally done your camera work is next to none. Keep up the good work❤ you both.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +1

      @@SteveZeko-nr6uy thank you 🙏 ❤️u2

  • @DaveExploresYT
    @DaveExploresYT 3 дні тому +4

    I could tell a lot of work went into this. Thank you for uploading!

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +1

      @@DaveExploresYT thanks Dave. And thanks for taking us there

  • @IcelanderUSer
    @IcelanderUSer 10 годин тому

    Seeing those videos from the 70s brings back some good memories. Life was so much less complex.

  • @Dang_Cool
    @Dang_Cool 3 дні тому +2

    Did you go to the Teton Damn Museum when you visited? Lots of information and pictures.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +1

      @@Dang_Cool unfortunately it was closed with no opening date

    • @Dang_Cool
      @Dang_Cool 3 дні тому +1

      @ that’s a bummer

  • @jasonralph4286
    @jasonralph4286 День тому +1

    I moved to Jackson Wyoming the year after this happened and for the past six years I have lived right next to the center of Sugar City. A lot of the homes were built or rebuilt after the flood. Sometimes when im lying in bed I wonder if my head would be above the level of the flood water 50 years ago.

  • @brianshersby8979
    @brianshersby8979 2 дні тому +2

    Thanks Steve anfd Andrea. A poigmnant reminder of the background of disasters that have throughout history. A desire to improve, coupled with inadequate testing and research, saving money, officials, executives and experts who thought they were wiser and more knowledgable than they were, as well as unusual weather events (there have been unusual weather events from the beginning of time.) Fascinating reaearch by Pin in thecAtlas - thanks!

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  2 дні тому +1

      @@brianshersby8979 you’re welcome Brian and thank you.
      Happy New Year 🥳

  • @KennethBoren
    @KennethBoren День тому +1

    The tall round structure with the metal bars is the intake screens for a control gate to let water bipass the dam . The spillway with the shoot was for relieving the dam when the run off rate would be above normal to over topping from happening.

  • @RaymondCoggins-xd2re
    @RaymondCoggins-xd2re 3 дні тому +2

    Another awesome adventure with my PIN and coffee HAPPY NEW YEAR

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +2

      @@RaymondCoggins-xd2re happy new year Raymond

  • @normstephens8354
    @normstephens8354 3 дні тому +1

    Happy New Year! You had an extra viewer at my house when Lee came on the screen! Penny gave Lee a bark and I guess that's as close to a thumbs up as a dog can get! They had a Farmer's Dog commercial on right before she saw Lee and she was looking for the source of the bark she heard earlier! Interesting explore! I think I saw a documentary on that dam sometime in the past. You'd think they would have figured out how to build an earthen dam by then? The 1889 Johnstown flood was such an example of what to do wrong in dam construction. I suspect those vertical tunnels on top of the dam were air vents to help prevent cavitation as the water passes through the dam.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +2

      @@normstephens8354 dogs are so funny. I really miss Harvey. Lee is Dave’s dog we had been dog sitting

    • @normstephens8354
      @normstephens8354 3 дні тому +1

      @@PinInTheAtlas I found dog sitting is a lot like having the grandkids spend the night. You spoil them ... and then send them home! 🙂Lots of dog stories here!

  • @ricksadler797
    @ricksadler797 День тому +1

    Locals warned them of several prior attempts had failed, yet they built there anyway

  • @Corgis175
    @Corgis175 День тому +1

    Frightening.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  День тому +1

      @@Corgis175 can’t even imagine how they felt

  • @ArkansasOff-Grid
    @ArkansasOff-Grid 3 дні тому +1

    Awesome video guy's, Happy New Year's everyone. 🥳🎉🎈🎇2025🎆

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +1

      @@ArkansasOff-Grid thank you. Happy New Year and we’ll see you on our next adventure

  • @d2sfavs
    @d2sfavs День тому +1

    wow that place is huge thanks for sharing and say hello to the british lady for me

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  День тому +1

      @@d2sfavs glad you enjoyed it. Happy new year 🥳

    • @d2sfavs
      @d2sfavs 12 годин тому

      @@PinInTheAtlas you as well my friend

  • @stephanielloyd4053
    @stephanielloyd4053 9 годин тому

    Didn't expect to hear an British accent! Great video! Love from Worcestershire, UK. ❤️🇬🇧

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  8 годин тому

      Thank you Stephanie. Used to live in Sussex

  • @amybaker5241
    @amybaker5241 8 годин тому

    Closest thing to it in our time right now is what happened in North Carolina. It just happened a different way. Sad to see so much damage caused by nature who should never be held back.

  • @mountaingirlzstuff4314
    @mountaingirlzstuff4314 2 дні тому +1

    The sea shell phenomenon happening in the turbine tunnel is amazing.

    • @For_What_It-s_Worth
      @For_What_It-s_Worth 19 годин тому

      Not a turbine inlet, just an overflow outlet. This was not a hydroelectric dam.

  • @pixelpeter3883
    @pixelpeter3883 3 дні тому +1

    Have a great and safe new year, you guys! Many happy trails! :-)

  • @davec9244
    @davec9244 3 дні тому +1

    Wow good job! A sad time did we learn from this or not. thank you ALL

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +1

      @@davec9244 thanks Dave. Glad you enjoyed it

  • @dezertraider
    @dezertraider 2 дні тому +1

    THANK YOU,HAPPY NEW YEAR.

  • @Bojangles6
    @Bojangles6 13 годин тому

    I havent heard of this. Have you covered the Rapid Creek disaster in Rapid City, SD? I think it was in 1972. I only learned of that in the last year or 2. This summer we visited the hills and drove across the new dam that forms lake pactola.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  13 годин тому +1

      No we haven’t covered it but did hear about it. Theres quite a lot of information in the museum in Keystone which was used as the morgue at the time

  • @olliespackrt5763
    @olliespackrt5763 3 дні тому +2

    Who's Lee?

  • @TrineDaely
    @TrineDaely 2 дні тому +1

    Those wood stairs easily look like they've been there for decades.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  2 дні тому +2

      @@TrineDaely our thoughts exactly

    • @TrineDaely
      @TrineDaely 2 дні тому +1

      @ By which I mean 1980s-90s, but not as old as she thinks they are. Same reason that new houses don't stand up as well as old ones - lumber quality isn't the same as it used to be (newer trees with less heartwood) and neither is lumber treatment (the old stuff was toxic af but it worked).

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  2 дні тому +1

      @@TrineDaely like that saying “they don’t make them like they used to “

  • @For_What_It-s_Worth
    @For_What_It-s_Worth 19 годин тому +1

    Was a high school age volunteer in the cleanup for about a week, I think. Mucking out basements and such in Rexburg. The college campus on the hillside was unaffected, and served as a center for many functions, including our meals and sleeping quarters.
    Didn’t get to see the dam.
    Thanks.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  14 годин тому

      @@For_What_It-s_Worth wow so you saw the destruction first hand!

  • @Qusin111
    @Qusin111 3 дні тому +1

    that half paid off getting up on the ledge/walkway

  • @amystaggs5303
    @amystaggs5303 15 годин тому

    Im sorry,just watching this and thinking what an incredible DEATH TRAP! Dams are scary enough with water,but damn!! How can they just leave that? Has anyone died???

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  14 годин тому

      @@amystaggs5303 haven’t heard of any fatalities but we agree. Looks like someone has taken the wire fence

  • @richard-cf8ce
    @richard-cf8ce 2 години тому

    Only 11 that's hard to believe

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  Годину тому

      @@richard-cf8ce heard different reports some saying 14. It could have been so much worse

  • @kippnovak9833
    @kippnovak9833 9 годин тому

    Great editing...great camera work also...was anybody ever held accountable for this ???...who paid for all the clean up ???

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  8 годин тому

      Thank you. The Bureau of Reclamation

  • @dailydonkeysaltydabs6056
    @dailydonkeysaltydabs6056 День тому

    Part of me can't get past the thought that this was done intentionally!

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  День тому

      @@dailydonkeysaltydabs6056 maybe not intentionally but certainly cutting corners

  • @bold810
    @bold810 День тому

    I remember when this happened, it was two months after the Chinese dam collapsed and killed 200,000+ people. Bad weather that year. 🎉

  • @tinadelwiche416
    @tinadelwiche416 3 дні тому +2

    It was mostly government. Mother Nature didn’t want fake she made her version of the Snake River. Very big important part of Idaho s history. I think mother nature’s was just trying to correct it.

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  3 дні тому +2

      Humanity always interferes and tries to “fix” things. Nature has a way of correcting it.

    • @tinadelwiche416
      @tinadelwiche416 3 дні тому +1

      @ exactly ,, that’s what happened here.

  • @Premiumclipz24
    @Premiumclipz24 День тому

    Well dam

  • @brucemcgee2281
    @brucemcgee2281 День тому

    Damn graffiti!!! We just had hurricane Helene. The destruction is horrible when the floods erupt.
    How is government helping Iowa?

    • @PinInTheAtlas
      @PinInTheAtlas  День тому

      @@brucemcgee2281 our hearts definitely go out to everyone effected by Helene, we have seen the destruction from people who live there posting videos and it’s very upsetting.

    • @helensteen3664
      @helensteen3664 15 годин тому

      @@PinInTheAtlas Dams were overwhelmed during Helene either discharging, overflowing or breached. They could not have held that amount of run off. There is a strong correlation between where deaths occurred and the destruction in the creeks and upstream dams. This in combination with flash flood pluvial runoff over the steep terrain was the reason for the debris flows which caused cumulative secondary flooding effects (block/break-out) in the main water courses and why the flooding was so destructive to infrastructure. Because there was so much pluvial flow from the steep slopes and landslides etc its impossible to differentiate between causes and effectively hides the fact of the dams being overwhelmed. Buncombe County has 71 dams relatively small discharges compared to Teton destructive nevertheless. At Asheville's main water supply reservoir an emergency release gate activated and discharged the authorities claim that it functioned as designed (no it did not) and saved the area from massive catastrophe. The resulting flash flood and debris flow from the emergency spillway release (too late) left all but 11 home uninhabitable in Beacon Village Swannanoa, when the flash flood cause by the discharge left the creek and cut a bend in the main river and swept much of Beacon Village away.

  • @richardbeee
    @richardbeee 3 дні тому +2

    Thanks!