• Black Eagle Dam - Great Falls, Montana

      by
      Mark Sedenquist
      Published on 09-21-2013 03:19 PM
      7 Comments Comments
      Black Eagle Dam
      Photo by Mark Sedenquist
      This is just one of the waterfalls that blocked the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805 and led to the naming of this city. In recent years the falls were civilized in the construction of this power plant known as the Black Eagle Dam. It took a month for the expedition force to portage around the falls of the Missouri River. The most spectacular part of the falls is also known as the The Great Falls Portage, a National Historic Landmark. Unfortunately it is privately owned, although there is a Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center in Giant Springs Heritage State Park in Great Falls, Montana.

      If you go:
      Nice walking trail on the south side of the river provides access to the other falls locations. Also in town is the C.M. Russell Museum. Well worth a visit. Also, down town along the river, keep an eye out for a sculpture that is half buffalo and half fish.

      Links:




      North River Road
      Black Eagle, Montana 59414 USA

      Comments 7 Comments
      1. Southwest Dave's Avatar
        Southwest Dave - 09-21-2013, 04:38 PM
        Nice ! We were just here and had a lovely evening stroll along the Missouri River at sunset in town and then visited Black Eagle and Rainbow Dams via Giant Springs State Park the following morning.
      1. Mark Sedenquist's Avatar
        Mark Sedenquist - 09-21-2013, 07:59 PM
        Awesome! Did you get some photos of the Rainbow Dam area?

        Mark
      1. Southwest Dave's Avatar
        Southwest Dave - 09-21-2013, 10:03 PM
        Yep, I would have got at least a couple of photos of them among the 12GB of photos I took. I hope to start sorting soon.

        Dave.
      1. Mark Sedenquist's Avatar
        Mark Sedenquist - 09-21-2013, 10:27 PM
        Fantastic news!
      1. Mark Sedenquist's Avatar
        Mark Sedenquist - 07-31-2014, 06:27 AM
        You've got to look at this photo taken in the 1880's -- best example I've ever seen of what Lewis and Clark faced when they reached this spot! Kudos to Tom007 for locating a new page with this photo.
      1. Southwest Dave's Avatar
        Southwest Dave - 07-31-2014, 07:59 AM
        Yep, that's pretty amazing and certainly makes you appreciate what a tough voyage that was for the early expeditions.

        Dave.
      1. Tom_H007's Avatar
        Tom_H007 - 05-11-2022, 01:56 AM
        The link to the 1880s photo in Mark's comment is no longer active. However, I've found another page with an 1880s photo at https://greatfallsgirl.wordpress.com...k-eagle-falls/