A whole lot of water Gainer Memorial Dam is a big dam. That’s pretty obvious to even the most casual observer. It’s 3,000 feet long, 110 feet high, and holds back almost 40 billion gallons of water. The reservoir behind the damn contains over 60% of the state’s water supply. It the dam decided to break, the ground would be flooded for over twenty miles in all directions. Yep, it’s a big dam that has impressive views of the reservoir and woods around it. There’s some hiking trails around the reservoir but many are unmarked and go off into all directions. Still a fun place to get lost, although in the snowy weather finding a place to park is really hard because most of the parking areas aren’t plowed. When the dam was completed in 1925 it was considered an engineering marvel. It has been inspected many times over the years and although modern construction methods weren’t used when it was built, it is said to be able to withstand a direct hit by an earthquake up to magnitude 5.0. I guess the towns around the massive old dam just have to hope a magnitude 5.1 doesn’t hit the area.
