The Teton Dam was an earthen dam on the Teton River in Idaho, United States. It was built by the Bureau of Reclamation, one of eight federal agencies authorized to construct dams. Located in the eastern part of the state, between Fremont and Madison counties, it suffered a catastrophic failure on June 5, 1976, as it was filling for the first time.
The collapse of the dam resulted in the deaths of 11 people and 13,000 head of cattle. The dam cost about $100 million to build, and the federal government paid over $300 million in claims related to its failure. Total damage estimates have ranged up to $2 billion. The dam has not been rebuilt.
- Breach of
Teton Dam, June 5, 1976
The dark brown streak on the dam face near the gray
bedrock in the left half of the photo is a leak that formed on the morning of
June 5. The speck above the leak near the top of the dam is a D-9 bulldozer
that is heading down to the leak to push dirt into it.
Large amounts of mud are now spilling down the face of
the dam, unchecked by the efforts of the bulldozer operators. The outlet works
at the foot of the dam are flooding with muddy water.
The dam is now breached and muddy water flows violently
over the dam face.
The breach has now widened to nearly its full extent. The
outlet works are completely inundated with muddy water.
Teton Dam Flood Museum
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