Splash dam

Water releases from multiple splash dams on tributaries were also often combined to maximize the number of logs floated throughout a given watershed.

Splash dams were typically constructed of logs or boards, which formed cribs that were then filled with stones and earth.

Typically one boat was the kitchen and dining area, one served as sleeping quarters for the men, and one provided shelter for the horses.

Water releases from multiple splash dams on tributaries were also often combined to maximize the number of logs floated throughout a given watershed.

On the Red River in eastern Kentucky, a series of carefully timed releases of water from splash dams allowed log drives to travel 20 miles (32 km) downstream.

[1] Splash dams had long-lasting negative impacts on stream structure and ecological function, some of which are apparent today.

The release of large artificial floods and masses of logs downriver scoured streams to bedrock and damaged or destroyed habitat for anadromous fish such as salmon and lamprey.