THIS DAY IN HISTORY:
The Teton Dam Failure (1976)
On June 3, 1976, engineers noticed two small leaks in the earthen Teton Dam, built on Idaho's Teton River. Two days later, the newly created reservoir was filled for the first time, holding a large amount of runoff. Water began seeping out, and the major leak that followed caused the dam—which had been constructed on permeable and fissured rock—to collapse. The reservoir drained in less than six hours, flooding nearby towns and farmland.
