A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability. Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect or store water which can be evenly distributed between locations. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions.
The Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. It is the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world, and holds the 45th largest reservoir in the world.
Hugh Keenleyside Dam is a flood control dam spanning the Columbia River, 12 km upstream of the city of Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada.
The Wolf Creek Dam is a multi-purpose dam on the Cumberland River in the western part of Russell County, Kentucky, United States. The dam serves at once four distinct purposes: it generates hydroelectricity; it regulates and limits flooding; it releases stored water to permit year-round navigation on the Cumberland River; and it creates Lake Cumberland for recreation, the largest man-made lake by volume east of the Mississippi river. The Lake has become a popular tourist attraction.U.S. Route 127 runs across the top of the dam but is being relocated downstream.
An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and a dense, impervious core. This makes the dam impervious to surface or seepage erosion. Such a dam is composed of fragmented independent material particles. The friction and interaction of particles binds the particles together into a stable mass rather than by the use of a cementing substance.
A tailings dam is typically an earth-fill embankment dam used to store byproducts of mining operations after separating the ore from the gangue. Tailings can be liquid, solid, or a slurry of fine particles, and are usually highly toxic and potentially radioactive. Solid tailings are often used as part of the structure itself.
New Exchequer Dam is a concrete–faced, rock-fill dam on the Merced River in central California in the United States. It forms Lake McClure, which impounds the river for irrigation and hydroelectric power production and has a capacity of more than 1,000,000 acre-feet (1.2 km3). The Merced Irrigation District (MID) operates the dam and was also responsible for its construction.
Atasu Dam is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Gaylan River, 16 km (10 mi) south of Trabzon in Trabzon Province, Turkey. It was built between 1998 and 2010 for the primary purpose of drinking water supply but also has a 5 MW hydroelectric power station.
The Kürtün Dam is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Harşit River located 5 kilometres (3 mi) east of Kürtün in Gümüşhane Province, Turkey. The development was backed by the Turkish State Hydraulic Works. Construction began in 1986 and the reservoir started to fill in 2002. The dam was completed in 2003 and its underground power station became operational in 2004. The dam is connected with 5.6 km long (3.5 mi) road tunnel, constructed to link the dam site to Kürtün. The hydroelectric power station, located below and just downstream of the right abutment of the dam, has an installed capacity of 80 MW.
The Torul Dam is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Harşit River located 10 km (6 mi) northwest of Torul in Gümüşhane Province, Turkey. The development was backed by the Turkish State Hydraulic Works. Construction on the dam began in 1998 and was completed in 2007. The dam's hydroelectric power plant was commissioned in 2008. Water is diverted through a tunnel and penstock on the river's north side where it reaches the power plant located about 4 km (2 mi) downstream. It has an installed capacity of 121.5 MW.
The Barra Grande Hydroelectric Power Plant is a dam and hydroelectric power plant on the Pelotas River near Celso Ramos on the border of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The power station has a 708 MW capacity and is supplied with water by a concrete face rock-fill embankment dam, the second tallest dam in Brazil. It is owned and operated by Energética Barra Grande SA (BAESA) and produces a 30% equivalent of the demand in Santa Catarina.
The Dongqing Dam, also spelled Dongjing, is a concrete face rock-fill dam on the Beipan River bordering Zhenning and Zhenfeng County 20 km (12 mi) northeast of Zhenfeng County's seat in Guizhou Province, China. The 150 m (492 ft) tall concrete-face rock-fill dam withholds a reservoir of 955,000,000 m3 (774,231 acre⋅ft) and supports an 880 MW hydroelectric power station. Construction began in 2005, the river was diverted in 2006, the dam began to impound the reservoir in 2009 and the first generator was commissioned that same year.
The Longshou II Dam, also referred to as Longshou No. 2, is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Heihe River, located 35 km (22 mi) southwest of Zhangye in Gansu Province, China. It is part of the Gansu Heihe Rural Hydropower Development and supports a 157 MW power station. The dam's first feasibility study was carried out in 2000 and river diversion construction began in December 2001. In June 2002, the river was diverted and in September that year, filling of the dam's body began. On 17 August 2004, the first generator was operational with the rest by the end of the year. The 146.5 m (481 ft) high dam withholds a reservoir with a capacity of 86,200,000 m3 (69,883 acre⋅ft). It's spillway is located on the right bank and is a controlled chute type with a discharge capacity of 2,696 m3/s (95,208 cu ft/s). Water is delivered to the dam's power station downstream via a 1.7 km (1 mi) long tunnel. The dam is located upstream of the Longshou I Dam, an 80 m (262 ft) tall double-curvature arch dam with an installed capacity of 52 MW. Upstream is the Xiaogushan Dam, a gravity dam which diverts water to a 102 MW power station.
The Malutang Dam is a concrete-face rock-fill dam (CFRD) on the Panlong River in Malipo County, Yunnan Province, China. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and the power plant was constructed in two stages. Stage I consists of a 40 m (131 ft) tall gravity dam which diverted water through a 3,460 m (11,352 ft) long tunnel to a 100 MW above ground power station downstream. Construction on Stage I began in 2002 and the first of 50 MW Francis turbine-generators was commissioned in October 2004, the second in January 2005.
The Daguangba Dam is a multi-purpose dam on the Changhua River in Hainan Province, China. It is located 35 km (22 mi) east of Dongfang. As the primary component of the Daguangba Multipurpose Project, the dam was constructed between 1990 and 1995. It serves to provide water for both hydroelectric power generation and agriculture. It supports a 240 MW power station and supplies water for the irrigation of 12,700 ha. It is also the largest dam and hydroelectric power station in Hainan.
The Heimifeng Pumped Storage Power Station is located at the hills of Heimifeng, Qiaoyi town, Wangcheng district, 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Changsha in Hunan province, China. It was constructed between 2005 and 2009 with the generators being commissioned in 2009 and 2010. The station generates power by transferring water between an upper and lower reservoir. When energy demand is high, water from the upper reservoir is released and used to generate electricity before being discharged into the lower reservoir. During times of low demand, water from the lower reservoir is then pumped back up to replenish upper reservoir. This process allows the station to meet peak energy demand and it can go from standstill to operational in three minutes.
The Jixi Pumped Storage Power Station is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station currently under construction in Jixi County, Anhui Province, China. Studies were carried out in 2008 and construction began in December 2010. It is expected to last 6 years. As of April 2017 the dam is completed. First turbine was commissioned in December 2019, followed by second in May 2020 and third and fourth in August 2020. The last two units were commissioned in February 2021.
Wishon Dam is a dam in Fresno County, California in the Sierra National Forest, in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. It impounds the North Fork Kings River to form Wishon Reservoir.
Fratel Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Tagus, where the river forms the border line between the districts of Castelo Branco and Portalegre. It is located in the municipality Vila Velha de Ródão, in Castelo Branco District, Portugal.
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