Mount Morris Dam & Recreation Area
Largest concrete gravity dam east of the Mississippi, 230 feet tall.
The Mount Morris Dam sits at the northern end of Letchworth State Park, where the Genesee River leaves the gorge and begins its run toward Rochester. The Army Corps of Engineers built it between 1948 and 1952 to prevent the kind of flooding that devastated Rochester in 1865 and 1913. The Corps estimates the dam has prevented roughly $1 billion in downstream flood damage. It stands 230 feet high and runs 1,028 feet across the gorge. The visitor center is open seasonally and free. Rangers offer guided walking tours that descend into the dam via elevator and walk visitors through the service tunnels. The overlook is worth a stop on its own for the canyon view and the perspective on scale. Don't miss: the overlook after heavy spring rains, when the spillway actually sees water. Most of the year the Genesee passes freely through the dam and the reservoir is dry.
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