Aswan Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Aswan High Dam |
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The Aswan High Dam as seen from space
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 Location of the Aswan Dam in Egypt
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| Official name | Aswan High Dam |
| Location | Aswan, Egypt |
| Coordinates | 23°58′14″N 32°52′40″E / 23.97056°N 32.87778°E |
| Construction began | 1960 |
| Opening date | 1970 |
| Demolition date | N/A |
| Owner(s) | Egypt |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment |
| Impounds | River Nile |
| Height | 111 m (364 ft) |
| Length | 3,830 m (12,570 ft) |
| Width (base) | 980 m (3,220 ft) |
| Spillway capacity | 11,000 m3/s (390,000 cu ft/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Nasser |
| Total capacity | 132 km3 (107,000,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Surface area | 5,250 km2 (2,030 sq mi) |
| Maximum length | 550 km (340 mi) |
| Maximum width | 35 km (22 mi) |
| Maximum water depth | 130 m (430 ft) |
| Normal elevation | 183 m (600 ft) |
| Power station | |
| Commission date | 1967–1971 |
| Turbines | 12×175 MW (235,000 hp) Francis-type |
| Installed capacity | 2,100 MW (2,800,000 hp) |
| Annual generation | 10,042 GWh (2004) |
The Aswan Dam, or more specifically since the 1960s, the Aswan High Dam, is the world's largest embankment dam built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. Its significance largely eclipsed the previous Aswan Low Dam initially completed in 1902 downstream. Based on the success of the Low Dam, then at its maximum utilization, construction of the High Dam became a key objective of the government following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952; with its ability to better control flooding, provide increased water storage for irrigation and generate hydroelectricity the dam was seen as pivotal to Egypt's planned industrialization. Like the earlier implementation, the High Dam has had a significant effect on the economy and culture of Egypt.
Before the High Dam was built, even with the old dam in place, the annual flooding of the Nile during late summer had continued to pass largely unimpeded down the valley from its East African drainage basin. These floods brought high water with natural nutrients and minerals that annually enriched the fertile soil along its floodplain and delta; this predictability had made the Nile valley ideal for farming since ancient times. However, this natural flooding varied, since high-water years could destroy the whole crop, while low-water years could create widespread drought and associated famine. Both these events had continued to occur periodically. As Egypt's population grew and technology increased, both a desire and the ability developed to completely control the flooding, and thus both protect and support farmland and its economically important cotton crop. With the greatly increased reservoir storage provided by the High Aswan Dam, the floods could be controlled and the water could be stored for later release over multiple years.
The Aswan Dam was designed by the Moscow-based Hydroproject Institute.
Images for kids
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Egyptian President Nasser and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at the ceremony to divert the Nile during the construction of the Aswan High Dam on 14 May 1964. At this occasion Khrushchev called it "the eighth wonder of the world".
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Gamal Abdel Nasser observing the construction of the dam, 1963
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A view from the vantage point in the middle of High Dam towards the monument of Arab-Soviet Friendship (Lotus Flower) by architects Piotr Pavlov, Juri Omeltchenko and sculptor Nikolay Vechkanov
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A central pylon of the monument to Arab-Soviet Friendship. The memorial commemorates the completion of the Aswan High Dam. The coat of arms of the Soviet Union is on the left and the coat of arms of Egypt is on the right.
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Green irrigated land along the Nile amidst the desert
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Water balances
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Main irrigation systems (schematically)
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The Egyptian countryside benefited from the Aswan High Dam through improved irrigation as well as electrification, as shown here in Al Bayadiyah, south of Luxor.
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Power pylons at the power plant of the Aswan High Dam.
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Power plant of the Aswan High Dam, with the dam itself in the background.
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A picture of the old Wadi Halfa town that was flooded by Lake Nasser.
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View of New Wadi Halfa, a settlement created on the shore of Lake Nasser to house part of the resettled population from the Old Wadi Halfa town.
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The statue of Ramses the Great at the Great Temple of Abu Simbel is reassembled after having been moved in 1967 to save it from being flooded.
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Lake Nasser behind the Aswan dam displaced more than 100,000 people and traps significant amounts of sediment.
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The catch of sardines in the Mediterranean off the Egyptian coast declined after the Aswan Dam was completed, but the exact reasons for the decline are still disputed.
See also
In Spanish: Presa de Asuán para niños
