Medicine Creek Dam

Medicine Creek Dam (National ID # NE01073) is a dam in Frontier County, Nebraska.

40°22′44″N 100°13′08″W / 40.37900°N 100.21877°W / 40.37900; -100.21877StatusOperationalConstruction began1948Opening date1949Built byUnited States Bureau of ReclamationOwner(s)United States Bureau of ReclamationOperator(s)United States Bureau of ReclamationDam and spillwaysImpoundsMedicine CreekHeight165 ft (50 m)Length5,665 ft (1,727 m)ReservoirCreatesHarry Strunk LakeTotal capacity35,705 acre⋅ft (44,041,000 m³)Surface area1,850 acres (750 ha)Normal elevation2,365 ft (721 m)^[1]

The earthen and rockfill dam was constructed in 1948 and 1949 by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. It is 165 feet (50 m) high, and 5,665 feet (1,727 m) long at its crest.^[2] It impounds Medicine Creek for flood control, part of the Frenchman-Cambridge Division of the Bureau's extensive Pick–Sloan Missouri Basin Program.^[3] The dam is owned and operated by the Bureau.

The reservoir it creates, Harry Strunk Lake, has a water surface of 1,850 acres (750 ha), a land area of 7,093 acres (2,870 ha), approximately 29 miles (47 km) of shoreline, and a capacity of 35,705 acre-feet (44,041,000 m³).^[4] It was named for the founding editor of the local McCook Daily Gazette.

Recreation includes fishing (for walleye, crappie, white bass, channel catfish, etc.), hunting, boating, camping and hiking. The state of Nebraska maintains the surrounding Medicine Creek State Wildlife Recreation Area, Medicine Creek Reservoir State Recreation Area, and Medicine Creek State Recreation Area.^[5]

• online recreation map^{[permanent dead link]}