The North Platte Project (originally the Sweetwater Project) is an irrigation project in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

s of Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

 and Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

. The project provides irrigation service to about 335000 acres (1,355.7 km²). The primary water storage for the project is in Pathfinder Reservoir

Pathfinder Reservoir

Pathfinder Reservoir is located in the U.S. state of Wyoming on the North Platte River between Casper and Rawlins. It sits 47 miles southwest of Casper, in Carbon County and Natrona County. The reservoir was created by Pathfinder Dam and has a storage capacity of . The shoreline consists of 117...

 in Wyoming. Downstream, Guernsey Dam

Guernsey Dam

Guernsey Dam is a earthfill dam on the North Platte River in Platte County in the U.S. State of Wyoming. The dam creates Guernsey Reservoir, the last of the 5 major reservoirs on the North Platte River in Wyoming. The dam contains a hydroelectric plant capable of 6.4 megawatts of electricity. ...

 manages river flow and provides secondary storage for water released from Pathfinder. Near Fort Laramie

Fort Laramie, Wyoming

Fort Laramie is a town in Goshen County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 243 at the 2000 census. The town is named after historic Fort Laramie, an important stop on the Oregon, California and Mormon trails as well as a staging point for various military excursions...

 the Whalen Diversion Dam diverts water into Fort Laramie Canal and Interstate Canal which distribute water to farms in Wyoming and Nebraska.

History

Surveys for the project began shortly after the Reclamation Act was enacted in 1902. The project was approved by the Department of the Interior in 1903, and work began on Pathfinder Dam

Pathfinder Dam

Pathfinder Dam is a cyclopean masonry dam, located on the North Platte River, approximately southwest of Casper, Wyoming. It was originally constructed between 1905 and 1909 as part of the North Platte Project and has been modified several times since then. It is included on the National Register...

 and Interstate Canal in 1905. Guernsey Dam was completed in 1927.

Facilities

• Pathfinder Dam
  Pathfinder Dam
  Pathfinder Dam is a cyclopean masonry dam, located on the North Platte River, approximately southwest of Casper, Wyoming. It was originally constructed between 1905 and 1909 as part of the North Platte Project and has been modified several times since then. It is included on the National Register...
  
  
• Guernsey Dam
  Guernsey Dam
  Guernsey Dam is a earthfill dam on the North Platte River in Platte County in the U.S. State of Wyoming. The dam creates Guernsey Reservoir, the last of the 5 major reservoirs on the North Platte River in Wyoming. The dam contains a hydroelectric plant capable of 6.4 megawatts of electricity. ...
  
  and Guernsey Powerplant
• Whalen Diversion Dam
• Interstate Canal
• Fort Laramie Canal