Saluda, << suh LOOD uh, >> Dam is among the 30 largest earth-fill dams in the United States. It is part of a hydroelectric power project on the Saluda River, 8 miles (13 kilometers) upstream from Columbia, South Carolina. The dam has a generating capacity of 206,000 kilowatts. It is 211 feet (64 meters) high and 8,650 feet (2,637 meters) long at the top. It contains 11 million cubic yards (8.4 million cubic meters) of earth. The dam was completed in 1930 at a cost of $6 million. From 2002 to 2006, the dam was upgraded, which involved the construction of a large concrete and rock dam immediately downstream from the original project.
