World’s most epic dams
On September 17, 1931, the Americans began constructing the Boulder Dam. We now know it as the Hoover Dam, and it was the engineering marvel of its time and spurred a generation of dams that changed the way we view hydroelectric power. We take a look at some of these iconic structures.
Aswan Dam
Location: Egypt
Purpose: Power, flood control, water storage
Construction began: 1960
Opening Date: 1970
Cost: unavailable
Height: 364ft
Type of Dam: Embankment Dam
The Aswan Dam is situated across the Nile. The dam’s ability to control floods, provide water for irrigation, and generate hydroelectricity were seen as pivotal to Egypt’s industrialisation. The dam has had a significant impact on the economy and culture of Egypt.
Three Gorges Dam
Location: Sandouping, Yiling, Hubei; China
Purpose: Power, flood control, navigation
Construction began: 1994
Opening Date: 2008
Cost: $26 billion
Height: 594ft
Length:7,661 ft
Type of Dam: Hydroelectric
The Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW). However, the dam flooded archaeological and cultural sites and displaced some 1.3 million people, and is causing significant ecological changes, including an increased risk of landslides. The dam has been a controversial topic both domestically and abroad.
Nurek Dam
Location: Nurek, Border of Khatlon and Sughd districts, Tajikistan
Purpose: Power, flood control, navigation
Construction began: 1961
Opening Date: 1980
Cost: unavailable
Height: 980ft
Type: Earth fill embankment dam
The Nurek Dam lies on the Vakhsh River in Tajikistan. Construction of the dam began in 1961 and was completed in 1980, when Tajikistan was still a republic within the Soviet Union. At 984 ft it is currently the tallest dam in the world. The Rogun Dam, also along the Vakhsh also in Tajikistan, may exceed it if completed. The reservoir formed by the Nurek Dam is suspected that the reservoir may be causing induced seismicity.
Grande Dixence Dam
Location: Hérémence, Switzerland
Purpose: Power, flood control, navigation
Construction began: 1953
Opening Date: 1964
Cost: unavailable
Height: 935ft
Type: Gravity dam
The Grande Dixence Dam on the Dixence River is the tallest gravity dam in the world and is part of the Cleuson-Dixence Complex. With the primary purpose of hydroelectric power generation, the dam fuels four power stations, totaling the installed capacity to 2,069 MW, generating approximately 2,000 GWh annually, enough to power 400,000 Swiss households.
Hoover Dam
Location: Nevada/Arizona, USA
Purpose: Power, flood control, water storage, recreation
Construction began: 1931
Opening Date: 1936
Cost: $49 million
Height: 726.4ft
Type of Dam: Concrete Gravity Arch
Hoover Dam’s construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over one hundred lives. The dam was completed more than two years ahead of schedule. The dam’s generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California. Hoover Dam is a major tourist attraction; nearly a million people tour the dam each year.
Arch Dam: Curved masonry or concrete dam, convex in shape upstream, that depends on arch action for its stability; the load or water pressure is transferred by the arch to the Abutments.
Reservoir: A body of water collected and stored in an artificial lake behind a dam.
Hydroelectricity (Hydroelectric power): The production of electric power through use of the gravitational force of falling water.
Powerhouse: A primary part of a hydroelectric dam where the turbines and generators are housed and where power is produced by falling water rotating turbine blades.
Drawdown: The release of water from a reservoir for power generation, flood control, irrigation or other water management activity.
48,000 is the approximate number of dams over 15m high currently functioning across the world.
6,000 is the aggregate storage capacity of all the dams worldwide in cubic kilometres.
1,600 is the number of large dams currently under construction across the world.
67% is the proportion of global dams under construction, accounted for by China, Turkey, Iran, and Japan.
19% is the proportion of the world’s electricity supply generated by dams.
40% is the proportion of irrigated land across the globe that relies on dams.
60% is the proportion of the world’s 227 largest rivers that is severely fragmented by dams.
80mn is the estimated number of people that have been displaced from their homes by dam construction.
$2tn is the estimated amount spent on dam construction throughout the twentieth century.
Category: World, World News
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