15 Largest Dams In The World

Largest Dams In The World 2018

Dams are massive manmade structures which are built to control water by placing some blockage of earth or concrete across the natural path of stream or river. Dams are very important for economic, environmental and social growth of any country. Dams are made for achieving various targets like flood control, hydro-electrical power generation, irrigation, fishery and sometimes for creating a natural habitat for wildlife also.Here is the list of largest 15 man-made dams in the world in the terms of volume of structure/fill.

15. W.A.C. Bennett Dam:

The W.A.C. Dam is an engineering marvel which straddles Peace river in NORTHERN British Columbia, Canada. At this dam Finlay river, the Parsnip and the Peace river feed into Williston lake which runs 259 km north-south and 150 km east-west. With the structural volume of 43.7[ 10⁶m³ ], the height of this wonderful dam is 610 feet and length is 2,068 feet.

14.Aswan Dam:

The Aswan dam is located in Egypt and impounds world’s largest Nile river. Its structural volume is 44.3[10⁶m³ ] and height is 364 ft and width at its base is 3,220 ft. The key objective of constructing this dam is to control flooding and provide increased water storage for irrigation. This dam has significantly helped in industrialization of Egypt.

13.Cochiti Dam:

The Cochiti dam holds the Rio Grande in Sandoval County, New Mexico. Counted as one of the ten largest dams of USA, this dam is 251 ft high and 1,760 ft wide at the base and structural volume of this dam is 50.2[10⁶m³ ]. Cochiti dam helps in controlling flood and sediment control on Rio Grande system

12.Garrison Dam:

This earth filled dam embankment holds the Missouri River in Central North Dakota, USA. The reservoir created at this dam is known as Lake Sakakawea. Garrison dam has a structural volume of 50.8[10⁶m³ ].This 210 ft high and 11,300 ft wide dam includes five electricity generating units. It also works to restore endangered fishes like Pallid Sturgeon.

11.Samarra Dam:

Samarra dam is a multipurpose dam on Tigris river in north Bagdad, Iraq. Its elevation at crest is 213 ft  and its reservoir holds 150.000,000 cubic mt water.The structural volume of Samara dam is 54[10⁶m³ ].

10.Nurek Dam:

Renowned as one of the largest rock-filled dam, this gigantic dam impounds Vakhsh River in Tajikistan. This dam includes nine hydroelectric generating units. The height of this dam is 980 ft and length is 2,300 ft and its structural volume is 54[10⁶m³ ].

9.San Luis Dam:

This major earth-filled dam is located in Merced County, California. The specialty of this dam is its reservoir which is the largest off-stream reservoir in the USA with the structural volume of 59.6[10⁶m³ ]. The height of San Luis dam is 382 ft from a foundation and its length is 18,600ft.

8.Oroville Dam:

Oroville Dam is a huge dam located in the city of Oroville, California. It straddles the Feather River. At height Of 770 Ft, this tallest dam of USA serves mainly of fresh water. Its reservoir is said to be largest manmade lake.The structural volume of Oroville dam is as same as San Luis dam ie  59.6[10⁶m³ ].

7.Mangla Dam:

This gigantic multipurpose dam got its name because of village Mangla. It impounds the Jhelum river in Pakistan occupied Kashmir . Its height is 482 ft with the structural volume 65.4[10⁶m³ ]. It is the seventh largest dam in the world. The purpose of constructing dam was to control annual floods.

6.Gardiner Dam:

The Gardiner dam is on the South Saskatchewan River in Canada. It claims to be one of the largest embankment dams in world. A magnificent water body behind Gardiner dam is known as Lake Diefenbaker. This dam stand 209 feet tall and almost 5 km long with structural volume 65.4[10⁶m³ ]. This dam serves the purpose of using water for irrigation, urban use, electricity generation and recreation.

5.Oahe Dam:

Situated in the north of Pierre, South Dakota, USA, this huge earthen dam holds water of Missouri river and creates largest man-made reservoir named Oahe lake which stretches up to 231 miles up the course of Missouri to Bismark. With huge structural volume of65.4[10⁶m³ ], this 245 feet high and 3500 feet wide dam’s power plant provides electricity for much of the north central, United States

4.Houtribdijk Dam:

This 27-kilometer long dam was constructed in the Netherlands, as a part of Zuiderzee Works. It was constructed to connect the cities of Lelystad and Enkhuizen. The structural volume of Houtribdjik dam is 78[10⁶m³ ]. The road constructed on this 68 meters wide dam is used by 8,500 vehicles per day with a speed limit of 100km /hour.

3. Ataturk Dam:

Originally known as Karababa Dam, this dam holds water of the Euphrates river and is located in southeastern Turkey. This earth and rock filled dam have 604 feet high embankment and 5871 feet long with 84.5 [10⁶m³ ] structural volume. Water impounded here is first used to generate electricity and then used for irrigation in the Harran plains

2.Fort Peck Dam:

This earth-filled dam is situated in Montana, USA across the Missouri river. It is 249 feet high and 21,432 feet long . The man-made  reservoir lake of this dam extends up to 34 miles. With a massive structural volume of 96[10⁶m³ ], this dam provides flood control, improved navigation and hydroelectric power.

1.Tarbela  Dam:

Tarbela dam is a giant rock-filled dam which impounds water of Indus river in Pakistan. This dam is approximately 469 feet high and 8,997 feet wide at its crest with a reservoir capacity of 11,098,000 acre-feet and structural volume of the largest dam of the world is 153[10⁶m³ ]. Purpose of constructing this dam was to control seasonal fluctuations on the Indus river.

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