Teton Dam Disaster

The Teton Dam was an earthen dam in Fremont and Madison Counties that failed on June 5th, 1976, sending a flood of water into downstream areas, and inspiring the Bureau of Reclamation to create its Dam Safety Program. This page lists a variety of sources for finding information about this disaster.

Online Sources
Photographs
Oral Histories
Reports
Books and Articles
Maps

Views upstream of the Teton Dam failure. Photo taken shortly after dam collapse. June 5, 1976. Photograph by Dave Walsh. https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g5000/photolab/gallery_detail.cfm?PICIDTYPE=51771. Accessed December 20, 2018.

Here are a few places to look on the internet for information about the Teton Dam. Please see our page on Dams, Hydroelectric Power, and Irrigation for a broader overview of dams and irrigation.

Teton Dam Collection inventory. BYU Idaho Special Collections
1976 Teton Dam Collapse. Idaho Office of Emergency Management
Teton Dam History, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior

PHOTOGRAPHS

An aerial photo looking north over Rexburg, Idaho, showing flooding caused by the break in Teton Dam. Taken at 6:30 p.m. FLD/Damage. June 5, 1976. Photograph by Dave Walsh. https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g5000/photolab/gallery_detail.cfm?PICIDTYPE=12519. Accessed December 20, 2018.

ORAL HISTORIES

Bureau of Reclamation Oral History Program
Information about the Teton Dam Disaster Oral History transcriptions and tapes, 1976-1978. Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division.
Van Den Berg, Max E., interviewee, interviews conducted and edited by Brit Allan Storey. Oral history interviews: Max E. Van Den Berg. Denver, Colorado: Bureau of Reclamation, Oral History Program, 2012.
Vissia, Rodney J., interviewee, interviews conducted and edited by Brit Allan Storey. Oral history interviews: Rodney (Rod) J. Vissia. Denver, Colorado: Bureau of Reclamation, Oral History Program, 2011.

Looking downstream across the remains of Teton Dam following rupture of the structure. The spillway is at right of the photo. FLD/Damage. June 6, 1976. Photograph by Dave Walsh. https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g5000/photolab/gallery_detail.cfm?PICIDTYPE=12510. Accessed December 20, 2018.

REPORTS

Eikenberry, F. William. Teton Dam Failure Review Group. Failure of Teton Dam: a report of findings. Washington: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1977. Accessed December 20, 2018.
Independent Panel to Review Cause of Teton Dam Failure, Wallace L. Chadwick, chairman. Report to U.S. Department of the Interior and State of Idaho on Failure of Teton Dam. Idaho Falls, Idaho: The Panel; Washington: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off, 1976.
Teton Dam Failure Review Group (U.S.). Failure of Teton Dam: final report. Publisher, Date: Washington, D.C.: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off, 1980.

View of Teton Canyon looking downstream during breaking of Teton Dam. FLD/Damage. June 5, 1976. Photograph by Dave Walsh. https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g5000/photolab/gallery_detail.cfm?PICIDTYPE=12623. Accessed December 20, 2018.

BOOKS AND ARTICLES

McDonald, Dylan J. The Teton Dam disaster. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 2006.
Madison County best remembered: a centennial photo history, 1913-2013. Rexburg, Idaho: Standard Journal, 2012.
Peterson, F. Ross, “The Teton Dam Disaster: Tragedy or Triumph?” (1982). USU Faculty Honor Lectures. Paper 7. Accessed December 20, 2018.
That Day in June: reflections on the Teton Dam disaster. Publisher, Date: Rexburg, Idaho: Ricks College Press, 1977.
Tragedy: A Chronology of The Teton Dam Disaster, June 5, 1976. Publisher, Date: Blackfoot, Idaho: Blackfoot News and The Standard Journal, 1976.

MAPS

Ray, Herman A., Howard F. Matthai, and Cecil A. Thomas. Teton Dam flood of June 1976, [various quadrangles], Idaho. Scale 1:24,000. Reston, Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey, 1976. – Look up these maps in the USGS Publications Warehouse. https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/
Williams, Rhea P. Sediment discharge and channel change in the North Fork Teton River, 1977-78, Fremont and Madison counties, Idaho. Open-File Report 79-1335. U.S. Geological Survey, 1979. Accessed December 20, 2018.

Minidoka Project, Teton Dam, Idaho. Aerial of the remnants of Teton Dam, which failed on June 5, 1976. These photos were taken between 11:10 a.m. and 11:20 am. August 10, 2015 BOR Photo by Kirsten Strough. https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g5000/photolab/gallery_detail.cfm?PICIDTYPE=73827. Accessed December 20, 2018.

Updated by Ronnie Joiner on March 17, 2022.