Dam
Dams are structures designed to restrict the flow of a stream or river, thus forming a pond, lake, or reservoir behind the wall. Dams are used for flood control, for production of electricity, to store and distribute water for agriculture and human populations, and as recreation sites, A large dam can produce electricity for hundreds of thousands of people.
World’s Oldest Dams Still in Use.
These dam are very old but have survived the ravages of time.
This dam is in Spain. Built by the Romans between the 1st and 2nd centuries, it is the world’s 2nd oldest dam known to exist. It is covered with concrete and measures 427m long and 22m high.
Cornalvo Dam
This third oldest dam in the world is in Spain. It was also built by the Romans between the 1st and 2nd centuries.
Kallanai Dam
This ancient dam is built across the Kaveri River in the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. It irrigates 400,000 hectares of land. It was built by Chola King Kariala around the 2nd century AD.
Kaerumataike Dam
This dam is built across the Yodo River in the Kansai region of Japan. The Yodo River on which the dam is constructed is fed by Lake Biwa, The largest fresh-water lake in Japan and the 3rd oldest lake in World. The lake provides drinking water for about 15 million people.
Quatinah Dam
The concept of dams is as old as human civilization. Modern dams serve to produce hydro-electricity, While the dams in olden times were built for flood protection. The World’s oldest dam, Quatinah Dam, Is in Syria. The Quatinah Dam was built during the region Egyptian Pharaoh Seti between 1319 and 1304 BC. It is also called the lake Homs Dam. This dam is 2km long and 7m high.
It is one of the most famous dams in the world. The Aswan Dam is built on the Nile River near the city of Aswan, Egypt. Infact, There are two dams at Aswan: old and new dams. The old dam was built during British rule in Egypt. It did not have enough water storage capacity so the government decided to construct a new dam with the financial and technical assistance of the Soviet Union. The new dam was completed in 1970. It has 12 power generators, each having 175 megawatts of power generation capacity. This dam can generate 2.1 gigawatts of hydroelectricity.
The Sadde Kobar Dam on the Kobar River in a 10th century dam in Iran Built of limestone and clay. It’s a gravity dam that holds back the water entirely by its own weight. It provides protection against floods and supplies water for irrigation purpose. This Dam is still in use.
It is the largest dam by storage capacity. This Dam can hold back 185 billion cubic metters of water. Lake Kariba, The reservoir created by the dam, Is 280km long and 32km in width. This lake forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Bratsk Dam
It is the world’s 2nd largest dam by the stroge capacity. It can store 169.27 billion cubic metters of water. The Bratsk Dam is built on the Angara River, Russia. A railway line and a highway pass over the dam.
It’s a big concreate dam built on the Colorado River in the United States. This Dam is 726 feet high and has a stroge capacity of 2,480,000 cubic metters of watter.
Three Gorges Dams
The Three Gorges Dam is built on the Yangtze River. In China.s Hubei Province. It is thw world’s largest Hydroelectric power station and the 2nd largest dam by power generation. The dam was built at a cost of 180 billion dollars. The dams structure was constructed in 2006. It was completed in 2012.
Syncrude Tailings Dam
This dam is the world’s largest dam by volume of construction material. It is located 40km north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada at the northern end of Lake Mildred. It Is spread over an area of 18squre Kilometers.
This dam is located on the Indus-River. The Tarbela Dam Is two times bigger then the Mangla Dam and Three times bigger then the Aswan Dam in Egypt. It’s the lagest earth-filled dam in the world. After independences, Pakistan decided to build this dam to meet its growing agriculture needs and thwart the Indain threat to stop the flow of rivers on its side. The dam was completed in 1971 and it became fully operational in 1977.
The Mangla Dam is Pakistans 2nd largest dam in the 16th largest in the world. It is built on the Jhelum River Mir Pur, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. This dam was completed in 1967. It’s construction begain after the Indus Basin Trety with India. The Mangla dam was the first water development project aimed at strengthening Pakistans irrigation system. This dam was damaged in the Indian Air-Force Raid during the 1971 war and it stoped working temporarily.
Warsak Dam
The Warsak Dam is on the Kabul River. It is Located 30km north way of peshwar in the KPK province. This dam is 250 feet Long And 460 Feet High.
A Barrage is type of a dam which has large gates to control the amount of water passing through them. The key difference between a barrage and a dam is that a dam is built for storing water while a barrage is built for diverting water.
