In the middle of the arid Egyptian desert lies one of the largest embankment dams in the world. It is called
the Aswan High Dam
, or Saad el Aali in Arabic, and it captures the mighty Nile River in the world’s third largest reservoir, Lake Nasser.
Is the Aswan Dam Good or bad?
The Aswan Dam benefits Egypt by
controlling the annual floods on the Nile River
and prevents the damage which used to occur along the floodplain. The Aswan High Dam provides about half of Egypt’s power supply and has improved navigation along the river by keeping the water flow consistent.
Which is the biggest dam across the river in Egypt?
| Aswan High Dam | Construction began 1960 | Opening date 1970 | Owner(s) Egypt | Dam and spillways |
|---|
Why was the Aswan High Dam so controversial?
Despite its successes, the Aswan High Dam has produced several negative side effects. Most costly is
the gradual decrease in the fertility of agricultural lands in the Nile delta
, which used to benefit from the millions of tons of silt deposited annually by the Nile floods.
How many dams are in Egypt?
More dams on the Nile
Over the past 50 years, six Nile Basin countries have built
25
hydroelectric dams. As of 2019, four dams were under construction with four more being studied.
Why did they dam the Nile?
The dam is
designed to control the Nile water for the expansion of cultivation and for the generation of hydroelectric power and to provide protection downstream for both crops and population against unusually high floods
. The work began in 1959 and was completed in 1970.
What if the Aswan dam broke?
What if the dam were destroyed, leaving Lake Nasser to rush downstream? The answer is that
a tidal wave of such magnitude would be created that Egypt would essentially cease to exist as a country
. Tens of millions of people would be killed, and untold material damage would be created.
Where is the world’s largest dam?
World’s Tallest Dam
Currently, the tallest dam in the world is
Nurek Dam on the Vakhsh River in Tajikistan
. It is 984 feet (300 meters) tall. Hoover Dam is 726.4 feet (221.3 meters) tall.
How much electricity does the Aswan High Dam produce?
The Aswan High Dam captures floodwater during rainy seasons and releases the water during times of drought. The dam also generates enormous amounts of electric power
— more than 10 billion kilowatt-hours every year
. That’s enough electricity to power one million color televisions for 20 years!
What are the disadvantages of the Aswan Dam?
DISADVANTAGES OF ASWAN DAM
The hydroelectric power accounts for 45% of Egypt’s energy needs
. and the size of the Egyptian population increases. variations downstream as the amount of water released is regulated. with the temples that line the river.
Why does the Aswan High Dam hold so much water?
It holds back
about 4.9 billion cubic metres (174.2 billion cubic feet) of water from the tail of the Nile flood in late autumn
. Once one of the largest dams in the world, it is 2,142 metres (7,027 feet) long and is pierced by 180 sluices that formerly passed the whole Nile flood, with its heavy load of silt.
Who built the Nile dam?
History of the Aswan High Dam
The Aswan Low Dam was constructed in 1898 under the direction of
Sir William Willcocks
. The dam was completed in 1902 and was raised twice between 1907 and 1912, followed by a further two between 1929 and 1933 to further alleviate the Nile from flooding.
Which Egyptian god was to control the flooding of the Nile?
Hapi was the
god
of the annual
flooding of the Nile
in ancient
Egyptian
religion. The
flood
deposited rich silt (fertile soil) on the
river’s
banks, allowing the
Egyptians
to grow crops.
Who built the first dam in Egypt?
| Sadd-el-Kafara | Total capacity ~570,000 m 3 (20,000,000 cu ft) Est. |
|---|
Is the Aswan Dam the largest dam in the world?
Aswan high dam,
the third biggest in the world
, impounds the River Nile and creates Lake Nasser. … Robert-Bourassa is the tenth biggest dam in the world with a reservoir capacity of 61.7 billion cubic metres.
Where the Nile starts and ends?
The Nile River flows from south to north through
eastern Africa
. It begins in the rivers that flow into Lake Victoria (located in modern-day Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya), and empties into the Mediterranean Sea more than 6,600 kilometers (4,100 miles) to the north, making it one of the longest river in the world.
