# Tallest dams in the world



## DamienK

The tallest dam in the world (complete) is the Nurek Dam, a large earthfill dam located on the Vakhsh River in the central Asian nation of Tajikistan. (The Rogun Dam, under construction along the Vakhsh also in Tajikistan, is expected to exceed the Nurek when completed, at a planned height of 335 meters (1,099 ft)). Construction of the dam began in 1961 and was completed in 1980, when Tajikistan was still a republic within the Soviet Union.










2. The Grande Dixence dam, at the head of the Val d'Hérens in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. 285 m tall.



















View full sized pic here, note the tiny flags at the top. Massive! https://www.anzere.de/albums/Stausee-Grand-Dixence/IMG_0073.jpg

3. The Inguri Dam (Ingurskaya) is a hydroelectric dam on the Inguri River in Georgia. 272 m tall. 










4. Vajont Dam, Italy. 262 m tall. 









5. Manuel M. Torres, Grijalva, Mexico. 261 m tall.









6. Alvaro Obregon, Mextiquic, Mexico. 260 m tall. No photo available.

7. Mauvoisin, Drance de Bagnes, Switzerland. 250 m tall. 










8. Alberto Lleras, Orinoco, Columbia. 243 m. No photo available. 

9. Mica Dam, BC, Canada. 243 m. 










10. Shushenskaya, Yenisei, Russia. 242 m.


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## 909

Interesting. It would be great to see the view from the top of the dam.


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## Anatolia

*Deriner Dam Underground Powerhouse Of Turkey*

*Deriner Dam (Baraji) is 5 km to the city of Artvin (a small city on the coast of Blacksea and border of Georgia) and under construction on Çoruh river. 

Height: 254-m high
Energy: (670 MW, 2118 GWh / year ) *

































































*Deriner Dam Underground Powerhouse - Turkey*
Location: Coruh River, northeast corner of Turkey, 100 km upstream bordering Georgia

The hydroelectric projects on the Coruh River and its tributaries are a vital resource to help increase Turkey's generating capacity and reduce dependence on imported electricity and coal-fired generation. 

*THE DAM*

Highlight: 2nd highest double curvature concrete arch dam in the world
Dimensions: 254-m high
Average flow: 160 m3/sec.

The spill structures consist of orifices through the dam and a concrete chute spillway on the left bank. As the headwaters of the Coruh River flow through soft volcanic rock, and the steep terrain causes many landslides into the river, it is a very muddy river even during relatively low flow. Deriner Dam will create a 70-km long lake that will allow the silt to settle out of the water and thus provide clean water both in the lake and downstream of the dam. This will be a benefit both for recreation and for the fish in the river.

*THE POWERHOUSE*

Highlight: 5th largest underground powerhouse in the world
Location: 100 m underground
Dimensions: 120 m long x 20 m wide x 45 m high
Instrumentation: Roctest

4 generating units with a total installed capacity of 632 MW operating under a head of 205 m and generating approximately 2100 GWhr/yr. 
129 rock anchors of 20 m long and up to 1400 kN in capacity provided support for the walls of the powerhouse during excavation. Support for the ceiling consists of a heavily reinforced cast concrete arch.

*INSTRUMENTATION & DATA ACQUISITION*

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

21 four and five point SAM rod extensometers with vibrating wire sensors for measuring convergence of the ceiling and walls during excavation. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 tape extensometer to measure the convergence of the powerhouse walls and ceiling. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

21 oil-filled total pressure cells to measure the stress changes between the native rock and the arched concrete ceiling abutments. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10 thermometers to measure the cooling rate of the arched concrete ceiling (which was up to 12 m thick at the ceiling abutments). 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10 vibrating wire piezometers to measure water pressure between the concrete lining and the native rock. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 Vibrating Wire Load Cells to measure load changes in the rock anchors. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Senslog 1000X Automatic Data Acquisition System (ADAS) except for temperature guage readings. Five 32-channel multiplexers reduce the amount of cable required. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A very important aspect of the instrumentation program was reliability. The SAM extensometers installed in the ceiling of the powerhouse would not be accessible after installation due to the depth of excavation (up to 45 m). Thus, they had to operate reliably with no opportunity for servicing for a minimum of three years until the internal concrete structure (walls and floors) was installed in the powerhouse. 

Convergence of the powerhouse walls can be clearly seen each time a new bench is excavated in the powerhouse. The convergence movements are primarily measured by the SAM extensometers, and are confirmed by the tape extensometer readings and the increase in the load measured in the rock anchors. The embedded total pressure cells measure stresses between the concrete arch ceiling and the bedrock abutments. Clearly visible is the initial reduction of stress due to shrinkage in the concrete shortly after placement, and then increase in stress due to the deepening of the excavation.

*TROUBLE FREE*

Roctest provided an engineer on site, full-time, for the duration of the powerhouse instrumentation installation and ADAS commissioning program to ensure that the installations were trouble free and the data collection system would operate reliably for this very important project. 

*DERINER POWERHOUSE*

Rows of rock anchors protruding from concrete blocks are visible on the right and left powerhouse walls. The crew is in a basket suspended from the crane, installing a load cell on a rock anchor 26 meters above the powerhouse floor.


Posted by Ilhan @ wowturkey.com


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## Forza Raalte

Interesting thread.

(too bad it has been hijacked :sleepy: )

I've been to the Verzasca Dam in Ticino, Switzerland once. I'm not afraid of heights but that was scary as hell. Looking 220 meters down :runaway:






























You might know this dam. It is in the opening scene of James Bond Goldeneye


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## Mosaic

Those are amazing constructions.


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## [email protected]

The 10 tallest dams in France are:

Tignes (1952), height: 160m:









Roselend (1960), height: 149m:









Grand'Maison (1988), height: 140m:









Monteynard (1962), height: 135m:









Serre-Ponc,on (1960), height: 124m:









Bort Les Orgues (1952), height: 119m:









Le Sautet (1935), height: 110m:









Sarrans (1934), height: 105m:









Vouglans (1970), height: 103m:









Mont-Cenis (1969), height: 95m:


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## carvin77

220 meters :eek2: i could jump with parachute... :runaway:


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## Arpels

impressive :uh:


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## Vloepkleedje

Thanks for the overview! Really impressive structures here.

The biggest dams in the Netherlands:

Well, none.


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## Grollo

The largest dam in Australia is the Dartmouth Dam in Victoria which is 180 metres high:










The third highest is the Gordon Dam in Tasmania which is 140m high:


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## Hindustani

Which Dam was the one used in Opening sequence of JAMES BOND movie GOLDENEYE?


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## forvine

^^ It's the Verzasca Dam in Ticino, Switzerland... see post #4


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## Skyman

Oh I've known many of 'em but I even didn't expect that there are so many huge dams in the world


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## empersouf

Great list, the dam in Georgia looks cool. That one in the Yenisei in Russia too!


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## Josh

In Belgium

Gileppe Dam, one of the oldest in Europe, built between 1869 and 1878. It's 64 metres high and 416 metres long. At the top it's 11 m thick and at the base 55 m. The lion on the dam is 13,5 m high and weighs 300 tons.



















Eupen Dam


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## sk

the tallest one in cyprus is kouris dam,110m tall.
the following pics are of kouris dam and of some other dams on the island

kouris dam









arminou dam









asprogremmos dam









dipotamos dam









evretou dam









kalavasos dam









lefkara dam









tamasos dam









xiliatou dam









yermasogia dam


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## London_guy

Wow nice feats of engineering there.


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## Citystyle

Ill cheat, but does this do it for you.

lake argyle dam 

The Dam it'self is small









Down stream









The Worlds largest Man Made Body Of Water and the largest high altitude lake.


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## jadebench

*San Roque Dam, Philippines*
12th largest dam in the world and largest in Southeast Asia


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## ZZ-II

the 3 gorges dam in china:


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## theperthvan

DAMN!


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## RSG

That would have cost a lot. Imagine Australia spending the same amount on infrastructure as China is spending.


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## ZZ-II

this one is unbelieveable expensive. originally planned with 26 Billion Dollars, until 2002 was there 50 billion dollars. and up to the final completion in 2013 there will be 75 Billion dollars.
This is an Unbelievable Number.


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## niels1

This Three Gorges in China also produce more electricity then any other dam in the world with 84 billon Kwh this is 21 time more then the Hover dam (USA).
For this dam there is replaced so much sand that you can go around the word 2 time with a sand column of 1 by 1 meter. And more then 1 million people had to move for this dam. 
In size this is by fare the larges dam in the word


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## onZikisAyas

great thread. thanks.


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## mdiederi

At the time it was completed in 1935, my local dam, Hoover Dam, was the tallest dam in the world at 221 meters. 
Now it is the second tallest in the US and 20th or 21st tallest in the world. 
It is still the tallest solid concrete dam in the US (the taller dam on the Feather River is not solid concrete).
http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/History/essays/biggest.html

Upstream side showing the intake towers during construction before they filled up Lake Mead.








©USBR









©USBR

Drilling rig contraption for the diversion tunnels.








©USBR

As it is today with the new bridge under construction which will be even higher than the dam.








©CFLHD & HDR

Link to the new bridge construction thread
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=363201


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## the runner

The longest. 
Afsluitdijk 32 km, The Netherlands

You can see it from the moon!


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## Hasse78

Trängslet dam in Sweden. 122m high and 900m wide.


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## NorthStar77

Tallest dam in Norway, Dam Virdnejavri 145m.









We have loads of dams, but not any really tall ones aparently.


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## JoshYent

nice! more pix!


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## LMCA1990

The 8th tallest - El Guavio in Colombia (243 mts tall):


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## LMCA1990

the runner said:


> The longest.
> Afsluitdijk 32 km, The Netherlands
> 
> You can see it from the moon!


Can that even be considered a dam? I think it's a man-made barrier.


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## Cidade_Branca

*Portuguese Dams*




























Aguieira, Portugal










Bemposta, Portugal



















Odivelas, Portugal





































Cahora Bassa, Mozambique



















Alqueva, Portugal










Castelo do Bode, Portugal


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## GNU

The Kariba dam in Zimbabwe is one of the largets in the world with a length of 579m and a height of 128m


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## Mateus_

It's really impressive!!


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## Jackhammer

theperthvan said:


> DAMN!


LOL ... beat me to it.


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## Red aRRow

lmcm1990 said:


> Can that even be considered a dam? I think it's a man-made barrier.


It's a dike, not a dam.


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## Bitxofo

The highest one in Spain is Almendra dam, it is 197 metres high:


















:eek2::eek2:


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## ZZ-II

that's almost the roof of the main tower in frankfurt


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## _isaacnewton_

Brazilian Dams

Itaipu - The second largest dam in the world. It was the first one until Three Gorges in China came up. Located at the Brazil-Paraguay border, the energy generated is divided by the two countries: 80% goes to Brazil, 20% goes to Paraguay. It's the main source of power of the paraguayans, and is also responsible for something around 20% of brazilian energy capacity.



















One of the nine power engines of the dam:










Tucurui Dam:









Funil Dam:









Furnas Dam:









Paulo Afonso Dam:









Gargalheiras Dam:


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## hankowdude

damn these dams


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## Manuel89

> 8. Alberto Lleras, Orinoco, Columbia. 243 m. No photo available.


culumbia... culumbia...damnnnnnnn it!!!!!!!!!!! it´s COLOOOOOOOOOMBIA!!!! COLOMBIA!!!!:bleep::bleep::bleep:


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## redbaron_012

Please don't mention the word ' Dam ' where Australia can see it...OK.....Its a very bad word here. We would rather the rain to flow across the land into creeks and rivers, flow to the sea then burn lots of brown coal to desalinate it..........Smart hey?


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## Alexriga

Awesome constructins, thanks. We can feel the power at the other side of dam


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## africa500

Merowe Dam-Sudan (in construction-Finish in 2008-Built by Chinese)

52 meter tall-




























More photos at sudaninside.com/merowe-dam


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## stefanguti

Kölnbreinsperre, 
Austria, 
220 m


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## mero-toty

*aswan high dam in egypt ...*

The Aswan High Dam is 3,830 m in length, 980 m wide at the base, 40 m wide at the crest and 111 m tall. It contains 43 million m³ of material. At maximum, 11,000 m³ of water can pass through the dam every second. There are further emergency spillways for an extra 5000 m³ per second and the Toshka Canal links the reservoir to the Toshka Depression. The reservoir, named Lake Nasser, is 550 km long and 35 km at its widest with a surface area of 5,250 km² and holds 111 km³.





































































































high dam monument ...










nasser lake ....



















:eek2::eek2::eek2:


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## Golan Trevize

Alqueva Dam - Biggest artificial lake in Europe


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## ZZ-II

wow, didn't know that there's such an tall dam in austria .


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## africa500

>


I love this picture


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## mbuildings

wow....stunning!!!!!!


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## Kapracan

El Cajón dam in Honduras, 225m tall.









(William Dekker)








(ChukieDiddieboppy )


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## Jakes1

KATSE DAM - Lesotho (Southern Africa)

Dam features
Height - 185 m 
Crest length - 710 m 
Design - double arch, concrete 
Concrete - 2,320,000 cubic meters 
1993 meters above sea level (highest Dam in Africa)


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## Wuppeltje

the runner said:


> The longest.
> Afsluitdijk 32 km, The Netherlands
> 
> You can see it from the moon!





Red aRRow said:


> It's a dike, not a dam.


It is a dam and a dike. Probably the word "dam" comes from the Netherlands, the first records found with the word are all from the Netherlands. Cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Schiedam, Appingedam, Edam, Spaarndam and Zaandam have their name from a river and it's dam. Amsterdam --> river Amstel + dam. The Damsquare is called here "De Dam". 

From wiki: "A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates, levees, and dikes are used to prevent water flow into specific land regions."

We use the word: "stuwdam" for the structures that are considered as typical dams in this thread.


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## iron_yuppy

Biggest dams in the Philippines

*SAN ROQUE* dam (Embankment type)
Length: 1,130 m
Height: 200 m
Max Capacity: 411 MW
Opened: May 1, 2003






































*AMBUKLAO* dam (Embankment type)

Length: 452 m
Height: 129 m
Capacity: 75 MW
Opened: December 23, 1956 (first hydroelectric dam in the Philippines)




















*ANGAT* dam (Embankment type)

Length: 568 m
Height: 131 m
Capacity: 256,000 KW
Opened: October 16, 1967


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## World 2 World

*Bakun Dam, Malaysia*

www.bakundam.com/home.html

1) Bakun Dam will be the 2nd tallest concrete faced rockfill dam (CFRD) in the world. 207 metres high.
2) Bakun Lake will be the biggest lake in Malaysia by storage volume, equivalent to the size of Singapore.
3) Bakun Lake will be the largest lake in Malaysia by surface area, even though it is not apparent on the map, due to the sliver shape of the various lake tributaries, as a result of location in the highland valleys.
4) Bakun Power Station will be the largest hydroelectric dam in Malaysia, surpassing the currently largest Pergau Dam's power station in Malaysia.
5) Bakun submarine power cable will be the longest in the world, surpassing the current Norway to Netherland submarine cable.







































































[/QUOTE]


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## roosterG

Picture Here:

I have been informed that this is the tallest earth dam in the western hemisphere. I cannot seam to find any proof on weather that is true or not. It is 274 Meters tall constructed almost entirely from compacted coal refuse. 

Any information would be great to have.


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## CarolynP

Hi, has anyone got an image of the Pergau dam that could be used on the website of a UK registered charity? We want to keep costs down and need an image of the dam to illustrate a page on a book that one of our Trustees has written. Thanks, Carolyn


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## gabo79

Wow nice feats of engineering there.


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## Edil Arda

Atatürk Dam
https://flic.kr/p/sonxkY by Tuncay Karadas, on Flickr

The dam is situated 23 km (14 mi) northwest of Bozova, Şanlıurfa Province, on state road D.875 from Bozova to Adıyaman. Centerpiece of the 22 dams on the Euphrates and the Tigris, which comprise the integrated, multi-sector, Southeastern Anatolia Project (Turkish: Güney Doğu Anadolu Projesi, known as GAP), it is one of the world's largest dams. The Atatürk Dam, one of the five operational dams on the Euphrates as of 2008, is preceded by Keban and Karakaya dams upstream and followed by Birecik and the Karkamış dams downstream. Two more dams on the river are under construction.

The dam embankment is 169 m (554 ft) high and 1,820 m (5,970 ft) long. The hydroelectric power plant (HEPP) has a total installed power capacity of 2,400 MW and generates 8,900 GW·h electricity annually. The total cost of the dam project was about US$1.25 billion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atatürk_Dam


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