Thanks to visit codestin.com
Credit goes to www.scribd.com

0% found this document useful (0 votes)
15 views15 pages

Dams Article

The document highlights 13 remarkable dams around the world, showcasing their unique engineering feats and significance in water management and energy production. Notable examples include the Jinping-1 Dam, the tallest dam, and the Hoover Dam, an iconic structure in the USA. Each dam is described with details about its design, capacity, and historical context, emphasizing their importance in various regions.

Uploaded by

Gayu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
15 views15 pages

Dams Article

The document highlights 13 remarkable dams around the world, showcasing their unique engineering feats and significance in water management and energy production. Notable examples include the Jinping-1 Dam, the tallest dam, and the Hoover Dam, an iconic structure in the USA. Each dam is described with details about its design, capacity, and historical context, emphasizing their importance in various regions.

Uploaded by

Gayu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 15

13 Dams That Are Marvels of Engineering

These 13 might just be the most fascinating dams in the world.

There are many jaw-dropping structural feats worldwide, each with its own interesting engineering designs.

But dams are the one type of structure that always leaves us in great awe.

Their sheer dimension and immense capacity tend to have a humbling effect on anyone who comes across
these structures. It often feels like standing before a calm, reassuring giant staring at you in all its glory.

And it goes without saying dams are some of the most intricately designed structures in the world.

What is a dam?

A dam, as defined by the British Dam Society, is:

“A barrier or structure across a stream, river, or waterway to confine and then control the flow of water. Dams
vary in size from small earth embankments, often for farm use, to high massive concrete structures generally
used for water supply, hydropower, and irrigation.”

The Jinping-1 dam is the tallest in the world. Source: David/Wikimedia Commons

David/Wikimedia Commons

Such structures are essential and crucial for providing energy and water management to many communities
worldwide. Dams are usually built across or near naturally flowing water to manage water resources for human
needs.
What are some record-breaking dams?

Dams are amazing structures in and of themselves. But some among them stand out as truly outstanding
works of engineering.

For example, the highest dam in the world, as recognized by Guinness World Records, is the Jinping-1 Dam in
Sichuan, China. She is a whopping 1,000 feet (305 mt) tall — taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

According to some sources, the smallest dam in the world is the Inks Dam on the Colorado River. She is
around 97 feet (29.4 meters) tall and about 1,550 feet (472 mt) long.

The deepest dam in the world is widely considered to be the Parker Dam on the Lower Colorado Basin. Built
with 380,000 cubic yards (290,531 cubic meters) of concrete, the dam has a height of 320 feet (98m), 73% of
which is below the original river bed. Only around 85 feet (26m) of the dam’s structure is visible.

What are some of the world’s most fascinating and famous dams?

And so, without further ado, here are some of the world’s most interesting and famous dams. Here, you will
discover some of the largest and most groundbreaking dams around the globe, many of which are used to
produce sustainable energy.

Who knows, some of these could be very near to you! This list is far from exhaustive and is in no particular
order.

1. Contra Dam in Switzerland was in GoldenEye!

Source:By Audrix / Creative Commons

By Audrix / Creative Commons


First on our list of fascinating dams would have to be the Contra Dam, most commonly known as the Verzasca
Dam, in Ticino, Switzerland. It is perhaps one of the most famous dams, for its epic appearance in the opening
scene of the 1995 James Bond movie GoldenEye.

Contra Dam is a slender concrete arch dam standing at a height of 722 feet (220 mt), with a crest length
of 1,247 feet (80 mt). Because of the dam’s slender design, the volume of concrete required to construct it was
reduced, consequently cutting down the construction cost.

The dam’s base is 292 feet (8 mt) in width and gradually tapers up to 723 feet (7 mt) at the crest. Two spillways
were incorporated at each side of the structure, with a maximum discharge capacity of 1,300 cubic meters per
second. Contra Dam also produces power through its 105 MW power station, which uses 3×35 MW Francis
turbines to generate an average of 234 GWh annually. The Lago di Vogorno reservoir was created by the dam’s
construction between 1961-1965 and is now impounded by the dam. This reservoir has a maximum capacity
of 105,000,000 cubic meters of water and a surface area of 400 acres.
2. Another fascinating dam is the Gordon Dam in Australia

Source:JJ Harrison / Flickr

JJ Harrison / Flickr

Gordon Dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam located in southwest Tasmania in Australia. One of the
dams’ amazing features is that it’s curved both in the vertical and horizontal directions to resist large hydraulic
pressures coming from the 12,359,040 megaliters of water in Lake Gordon, the largest lake in Australia.
The immense volume of water is diverted 600 feet (183 mt) to the underground power station, where
three hydro turbines can generate up to 432 MW of power. The Gordon Power Station provides approximately
13% of Tasmania’s electricity demand.

Out of the 48 arch dams built in Australia, Gordon Dam is one of the only nine designed as a double-curving
dam.

3. Monticello Dam (USA)

Source:Jeremybrooks / Creative Commons

Jeremybrooks / Creative Commons

This 305 ft (93 mt) concrete arch dam in California, USA, is one of the coolest dams in the world because of its
mesmerizing spillway, sometimes referred to, unfortunately, as “the Glory Hole.” The spillway is an
uncontrolled morning glory type with a tip diameter of 72 feet (22 mt), and sits within the perimeters of Lake
Berryessa, the seventh largest man-made lake in California.

It can drain 48,400 cubic feet per second of water during the lake’s peak level when it rises to 15 feet (4.7
mt) above the spillway’s lip. The exit end of the spillway is also famous as a full pipe for skateboarders.

Monticello dam impounds the Putah Creek and can generate 56,806,000 kWh of power annually using 2×5
MW and 1×1.5 MW turbines.
4. Hoover Dam in the USA is probably one of the most iconic of all dams

Source:Mariordo/Wikimedia Commons

Mariordo/Wikimedia Commons

Hoover Dam is one of the most iconic dams around the world, stretching between the American states of
Nevada and Arizona. Originally called the Boulder Dam, this colossal structure stands at a height of 726
feet (221.4 mt), with a base width of 656 feet (200 mt) and a crest width of 46 feet (14 mt).

It’s a concrete gravity-arch dam constructed to control floods, provide irrigation water, produce hydroelectric
power, store water, and create a recreation area. The hydropower station houses various turbines, including
a 1×61.5 MW Francis turbine and a 2×2.4 MW Pelton turbine, which produce an annual electrical output of 4.2
TWh.

One of the most involved preparations made for the construction of Hoover Dam was the diversion of the
Colorado River away from the site. To make this happen, four diversion tunnels were bored through the canyon
walls — two on the Nevada and two on the Arizona side.

On the 1st of February, 1935, a few years after the Colorado River was diverted, a steel gate was lowered to
allow the water to take its natural course again. That was the first time in history when the Colorado River was
under human control.

The dam impounds the Colorado River, which consequently forms Lake Mead, the largest artificial reservoir by
volume in the United States when full.
5. The Chinese Three Gorges Dam is another interesting dam

Source: Le Grand Portage- Rehman/ Creative Commons

Le Grand Portage- Rehman/ Creative Commons

Known as the world’s largest hydropower dam, the Three Gorges Dam stretches out 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to span
and impound the Yangtze River in the Hubei province in China.

This hydropower dam can produce 87 TWh of electricity per annum and uses 32×700 MW and 2×50
MW Francis turbines. Its structural profile is designed with a large base width of 377 feet (115 mt) and tapers
to 131 feet (40 mt) at the crest.

Intended not only to produce electricity, the Three Gorges Dam was also constructed to increase the shipping
capacity of the Yangtze River and mitigate the chances of flooding downstream by providing large water storage
space.

The most mind-blowing fact about this dam is that when it was built, it flooded a total area of 156,171 acres
(632 square kilometers) of land with water weighing more than 39 trillion kilograms (42 billion tons). This was a
large enough amount of water that it increased the Earth’s moment of inertia and slowed the planet’s rotation
by an estimated 0.06 microseconds. This, in turn, made the Earth slightly more round in the middle and flat on
the top, shifting the pole position by about 0.8 inches (2 cm).
6. The Tarbela Dam in Pakistan is an amazing piece of engineering

Source: Paul Duncan/Wikimedia Commons

Paul Duncan/Wikimedia Commons

Considered the largest earth-filled dam in the world, the Tarbela Dam in Pakistan impounds the Indus River and
serves as an irrigation supply, flood control, and to produce hydroelectric power.

In order to properly divert the Indus River, the dam’s construction had to be done in three stages, where large
tunnels were constructed to act as diversion channels. The dam’s main wall was built with earth and rockfill
that spans 9,000 feet (2,743 mt) from the island to the right-hand side of the river. Two concrete auxiliary dams
span the river from the island to the left-hand side.

Equipped with 10×175 MW and 4×432 MW of turbines, Tarbela Dam can produce 14.959 billion kWh of
electricity per annum.
7. Almendra Dam in Spain is another amazing dam

Source: Dario/Wikimedia Commons

Dario/Wikimedia Commons

One of Spain’s tallest structures, the Almendra Dam, also known as Villarino Dam, is located in the country’s
province of Salamanca.

Impounding the Tormes River, this concrete gravity arch dam is part of the hydroelectric system known as the
Duero Drops. The Duero Drops system comprises five dams from Spain and three other dams nearby Portugal.

The spillway seen in the photo below can disperse water at a rate of 3,039 cubic meters per second.
8. The Itaipu Dam in Brazil is enormous

Source:Deni Williams / Flickr

Deni Williams / Flickr

This fascinating hydroelectric dam stretches 25,981 feet (7,919 mt) along the border of Brazil and Paraguay,
impounding the Parana River.

It beats the Three Gorges Dam in terms of power output at an average of 89.5 TWh per annum by using 20×700
MW Francis turbines. Ten of the turbines generate power for Paraguay, while the other ten bring power to Brazil.

Itaipu Dam is, in fact, a series of four dams: a concrete wing dam, a main concrete dam, a rock-fill dam, and an
earth-fill dam.

Impressively, the immense volume of concrete used in constructing the dam was properly cured using large
refrigeration units equivalent to 50,000 deep freezers.

Another mind-blowing fact about this dam is that the Guaira Falls, once known as the world’s most amazing
water feature, was submerged underwater when the Itaipu reservoir was filled. The Guaira Falls stood twice the
height of Niagara Falls and surged twice as much water.
9. The Atatürk Dam in Turkey is an impressive piece of engineering too

Source: Ben Blender/Wikimedia Commons

Ben Blender/Wikimedia Commons

Located on the Euphrates River, the Atatürk Dam is the largest in Turkey and ranks sixth among the largest
earth-and-rock-filled embankment dams in the world. It is the centerpiece of the 22 dams that exist on the
Euphrates and the Tigris, which comprise the integrated sectors of the Southeastern Anatolia Project, or GAP in
Turkish (Güney Doğu Anadolu Projesi).

The Atatürk reservoir has a capacity of 48.7 cubic kilometers of water and is equipped with 8×300 MW Francis
turbines, which generate 8,900 GWh of electrical power per annum. The dam’s construction wiped out many
important historical sites, including the birthplace of the Ancient Greek poet Lucian.
10. Thousands of animals were relocated to build the Kariba Dam in Zimbabwe

Source: Manfidza/Creative Commons

Manfidza/Creative Commons

One of the largest in Africa, the Kariba Dam supplies 1,626 MW of power to the Copperbelt areas of both
Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Impounding the Zambezi River, the Kariba dam is outfitted with ten types of Francis turbines capable of
outputting an average of 6,400 GWh of electrical power per year.

The dam was designed as a double curvature concrete arch dam to effectively resist the 180 cubic
kilometers of water pressing against it.

Because of the immense volume of water from the created Kariba reservoir, more than 6,000 animals had to be
rescued by Operation Noah as the Kariba Gorge was flooded.
11.The Kerr Dam in the USA can produce a lot of energy

Source:Martina Nolte, Lizenz / Creative Commons

Martina Nolte, Lizenz / Creative Commons

Designed for producing hydroelectricity, the Kerr Dam also serves wildlife resources, forest conservation, and
public recreational uses.

By impounding the Flathead River, the dam can produce 426 GWh of electricity per annum.

It is one of the two PPL Montana dams located west of the Continental Divide, where the Flathead River
empties into the Clark Fork River, which subsequently empties into the Columbia River.

Finally, the Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean.


12. The Gariep Dam in South Africa

Source: Nic Roets/Wikimedia Commons

Nic Roets/Wikimedia Commons

The Gariep Dam was designed to be a hybrid gravity-arch dam, as the gorge is too wide for a full arch.

Gravity abutments are formed using flank walls then the design gradually arches at the dam’s center. It
impounds the Orange River and creates the Gariep reservoir with a maximum capacity of 5,340,00
megaliters. The dam produces 899 GWh of electrical power annually using 4×90 MW turbines.
13. Loch Mullardoch Dam in Scotland has an interesting design

Source: Marc/Flickr

Marc/Flickr

And last, but by no means least on our list of fascinating dams is Loch Mullardoch Dam in Scotland. Forming a
major reservoir in Glen Cannich in the Northwest Highlands, this amazing dam was built in the early-1950s.

You might also like