Aswan is a city on the first cataract of the Nile in Egypt. Two dams straddle the river at this point: the newer Aswan High Dam (Arabic: السد العالي; transliterated: as-Sad al-'Aly), and the older Aswan Dam or Aswan Low Dam.

Without impoundment the River Nile would flood each year during summer, as waters from East Africa flowed down the river. These floods brought nutrients and minerals that made the soil around the Nile fertile and ideal for farming. As the population along the river grew, there came a need to control the flood waters to protect farmland and cotton fields. In a high-water year, the whole crop may be entirely wiped out, while in a low-water year there was widespread drought and famine. The aim of this water project was to prevent the river's flooding, generate electricity and provide water for agriculture.

Glen Canyon Dam is a dam on the Colorado River at Page, Arizona. The dam has been controversial since its inception, because it caused the flooding of Glen Canyon to create a man-made reservoir, Lake Powell.

The dam is 1,560 feet long along its crest, 300 feet thick at the base and 25 feet thick at the top. Its height above the Colorado River is 587 feet. Eight Francis type hydroelectric generators give it a generating capacity of 1,300 MW.

Its construction began in 1956. Although the dam was not dedicated until 1966, it was able to begin blocking the flow of the river in 1963.

The Sierra Club and other environmental organizations opposed the original plan for damming the Colorado River. When the plan was modified by the elimination of other proposed dams, however, the Sierra Club dropped its objection to the Glen Canyon Dam. Its then Executive Director, David R. Brower, later called this decision one of the biggest mistakes of his career:

Table Rock Lake Dam - constructed in the 1950s on the White River by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is one of the tourist draws for the nearby town of Branson.

(Source: Wikipedia)

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Grand Coulee Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam on the Columbia River in Washington, built by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. Along with the Hoover Dam it is among the most famous dams in the United States. The reservoir it backs up is called Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake, named after the United States president who presided over the conception and completion of the dam.

The scope and size of the dam are hard to comprehend. The dam is over a mile long and is taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza. In fact, all the pyramids at Giza could fit within the base of the Grand Coulee Dam. It is more than twice as tall as Niagara Falls.

(Source: Wikipedia)

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Blakely Mountain Dam construction began in 1948 and ended in 1953 when the gates where closed, creating Lake Ouachita. The dam is 231 feet high and 1100 feet wide.

The generators of the the power station are capable of producing 75,000 kilowatts.

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22 km long lake in southern Poland

(Photo and description: roznowie.prv.pl (PL))

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