Belle Fourche Dam

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Belle Fourche Dam

| nrhp_type =

| image = Belle Fourche Project - Dam, Upstream Face - placing the paving - South Dakota - NARA - 294654.jpg

| caption = Construction of the Belle Fourche Dam, circa 1904

| location = Butte County, South Dakota

| nearest_city = Belle Fourche, South Dakota

| locmapin = South Dakota#USA

| built = 1911

| builder = United States Bureau of Reclamation

| architecture =

| added = November 23, 1977

| area = {{convert|8,063|acre|ha}}

| refnum = 77001239{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

}}

The Belle Fourche Dam, also known as Orman Dam, is a dam on Owl Creek in Butte County, South Dakota, USA, approximately {{convert|8|miles}} east of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, along U.S. Route 212. Its construction created the Belle Fourche Reservoir, the Belle Fourche National Wildlife Refuge, and the Rocky Point Recreation Area.

The reservoir has approximately {{convert|8000|acres}} of water surface, {{convert|6700|acres}} of land, and {{convert|58|miles}} of shoreline. It is stocked with walleye, catfish, and white bass. Average depth is {{convert|25|feet}}, but it has areas as deep as {{convert|60|feet}} at full capacity. Common activities at BFR (Belle Fourche Reservoir)include boating, fishing, ice fishing, ice skating, camping, cooking out, water skiing, and fossil hunting.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Construction occurred in several stages between 1903 and 1907. The dam was the first project undertaken by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR).{{cite web |url= https://www.nps.gov/articles/south-dakota-belle-fourche-dam.htm |title= South Dakota: Belle Fourche Dam |publisher= National Park Service |access-date= December 12, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210125094651/https://www.nps.gov/articles/south-dakota-belle-fourche-dam.htm |archive-date= January 25, 2021 |url-status= live}}{{cite web |url= https://www.sdpb.org/blogs/images-of-the-past/building-orman-dam-1907/ |title= Building the Belle Fourche (Orman) Dam - 1903-1907 |author= Brian Gevik |publisher= South Dakota Public Broadcasting |date= March 25, 2015 |access-date= December 12, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210613080940/https://www.sdpb.org/blogs/images-of-the-past/building-orman-dam-1907/ |archive-date= June 13, 2021 |url-status= live}} At its 1911 completion by the USBR, Belle Fourche Dam was the largest earthen dam in the world. The dam is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=77001239}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Orman Dam / Belle Fourche Dam |publisher=National Park Service|first=Raymond A.|last=Ninke |date=1976 |accessdate=December 15, 2017}} With {{NRHP url|id=77001239|photos=y|title=five photos and captions}}. In 1989, it was listed among the approximately 250 Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks.

The dam is described as "a homogeneous earthfill structure containing about {{convert|1,783,000|cuyd}} of material. It has a maximum base width of {{convert|650|feet}}, a structural height of {{convert|122|feet}}, and a hydraulic height of {{convert|97|feet}}. The crest of the dam at elevation {{convert|2989.75|feet}} has a length of {{convert|6,262|feet}} and a width of {{convert|19|feet}}."