The Highest Dams, the Highest Largest Reservoirs

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The Highest Dams Worldwide

The highest dam in the world is the Jinping-I Dam in China (map) on the Jinping Bend of the Yalong River. It is 305 meters high. However, a few other projects are currently under construction, which should surpass this limit.

Name Height Dam type Location River
Jinping-I 305 m Concrete arch-shaped China Yalong
Nurek 300 m Earth fill Tajikistan Vakhsh
Xiaowan 292 m Concrete arch China Lancang
Xiluodu 285.5 m Concrete arch China Jinsha
Grande Dixence 285 m Gravity concrete Switzerland Dixence
Yusufeli 275 m Arch, double-curvature Turkey Çoruh
Inguri 271.5 m Concrete arch-shaped Georgia Inguri
Vajont 261.6 m Concrete arch-shaped Italy Vajont
Nuozhadu 261.5 m Embankment China Lancang
Manuel M. Torres 261 m Earth fill Mexico Grijalva
Tehri 260.5 m Earth fill India Bhagirathi
Mauvoisin 250 m Concrete arch-shaped Switzerland Bagnes
Laxiwa 250 m Concrete arch China Yellow
Deriner 249 m Concrete double-arch Turkey Çoruh
Alberto Lleras 243 m Rock fill Colombia Guavio
Mica 243 m Earth fill Canada Columbia
Gilgel Gibe III 243 m Roller-compacted concrete gravity Ethiopia Omo
Sayano Shushenskaya 242 m Gravity concrete arch-shaped Russia Yenisei
Ertan 240 m Gravity concrete arch-shaped China Yangtze

The Inguri dam and power plant are situated in Georgia and Abkhazia, stemming the Inguri River. With a dam of 272 m in height it is one of the tallest in the world. (Source: © bortnikau / stock.adobe.com)
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The concrete Inguri Dam with its five 260 MW units is 272 m high. (Source: © bortnikau / stock.adobe.com)
The tallest dam in Europe (285 m) is the concrete gravity dam of the Grande Dixence Lake in the Alps (Switzerland). It accumulates water from melting glaciers. (Source: © Silvia / stock.adobe.com)
Lake Nasser is one of the largest man-made water bodies in the world. It is in the south of Egypt and the north of Sudan and it is approximately 500 km long. (Source: © Karel / stock.adobe.com)
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The Largest Reservoirs Worldwide

Reservoir River Location Year km3
Lake Kariba Zambezi Zimbabwe 1959 180.6
Bratsk Angara Russia 1964 169
Lake Volta Volta Ghana 1965 150
Manicouagan Manicouagan Canada 1968 141.8
Lake Guri Caroní Venezuela 1986 135
Nasser Nile Egypt 1971 132
Williston Lake Peace Canada 1967 74.3
Krasnoyarsk Yenisei Russia 1967 73.3
Zeya Zeya Russia 1978 68.4
Robert-Bourassa La Grande Canada 1981 61.7

 

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