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Dams are made for different purposes including containment of water to form a reservoir, generation of hydroelectric power and irrigation of lands besides other usages. Here is a list of Top 10 largest dams in the world by volume of structure. However, the data on volume of structure is not easily available.
10. Oroville Dam
It is a rockfill embankment dam on the Feather River in Oroville, California, United States. It is the tallest dam in the country at the height of 770 feet (230 meters). The construction on the dam began in 1961 and was completed in 1968.
9. Mangla Dam
It is located on the Jhelum River in the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir in Pakistan. The construction on the dam began in 1961 and was completed in 1967 with the funds donated by the World Bank. Around three million acres of farmland is irrigated through the dam.
8. Gardiner Dam
It is located on the South Saskatchewan River. The construction on the dam began in 1959 and was completed in 1967. It creates Lake Diefenbaker upstream. It is one of the largest embankment dam in the world.
7. Guri Dam
It is a concrete gravity and embankment dam on the Caroni River in Bolivar State in Venezuela. It is officially named as Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar. The construction began in 1963 and was completed in 1978. The dam faces environmental controversy because the lake it created destroyed forests known for its biodiversity and rare wildlife.
6. Flevoland Dyke
Flevoland is a province of Netherlands, located almost at its centre. It has one of the largest dams in the world called Flevoland Dyke that has a structure volume of 78,000,000 cubic metres.
5. Atatürk Dam
Originally called the Karababa Dam, it renamed in honour of Mustada Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. It is a zoned rock-fill dam with a central core on the Euphrates River. The construction began in 1983 and was completed in 1990, but the dam was opened in 1992 after upfilling of reservoir.
4. Fort Peck Dam
It is the highest of six major dams along the Missouri River in the United States and the country’s largest hydraulically filled dam. The construction on the dam began in 1933 and was completed in 1940 and cost $100 million at the time.
3. Syncrude Tailings Dam Mildred SWSS
It is South West Sand Storage (SWSS) facility that was commissioned in 1993 and part of the Mildred Lake Project.
2. Tarbela Dam
It is located on the Indus River in Haripur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan and is the world’s largest earth filled dam. The dam is 485 feet (148 meters) high above the riverbed. The useful lifespan of dam was earlier expected to be 50 years, but due to lower sedimentation, the life span is now 85 years, which means till 2060.
1. Syncrude Tailings Dam Mildred MLSB
It is an embankment dam and by volume of construction material, it is the largest dam in the world. It is located in Alberta, Canada.