Dams are some of the greatest man-made structures in the world and some of the largest.
Dams are also some of the most essential structures to humans as they provide irrigation, electricity, and help to control the flooding of the rivers they’re built across.
For this list, we chose to arrange the dams by the volume of their reservoirs because this information is the most accurate and readily available of all of these dams’ dimensions.
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Gardiner Dam is the largest earth filled dam in Canada and one of the largest embankment dams in the world.
The dam is located south of Saskatoon on the South Saskatchewan River.
Gardiner Dam was completed in 1967 and created Lake Diefenbaker, the dam’s reservoir.
Lake Diefenbaker has a capacity of 9.4 cubic kilometers (7,620,700 acre-feet).
The Gardiner Dam’s main purpose is to efficiently utilize the waters of the South Saskatchewan River for irrigation, recreation, urban water supply, and electrical power.
Gardiner Dam now provides irrigation to about 100,000 acres (40,468.564 hectares) of land, which allowed new crops to be grown in the region, including pinto beans, peas, and fava beans.
Gardiner, the former premier of Saskatchewan and Lake Diefenbaker was named after former Canadian Prime Minister John G.
Source: Wikimedia Commons via Troetona
Although the Nurek Dam isn’t quite as large as the other dams on this list it is the tallest dam in the world with a height of 300 meters (980 feet).
Nurek Dam is located across the Vakhsh River, which is the largest river in Tajikstan.
Nurek Dam is one of five hydroelectric dams along the Vakhsh River.
Of the five hydroelectric dams, Nurek Dam provides the most electricity, about 3,000 MW – this accounts for about 75% of Tajikstan’s electricity needs.
The Nurek Dam is used to irrigate 1,600,000 acres (650,000 hectares) of farmland in Tajikstan.
Structure Height: 14.3 km³ (11,098,680 acre-ft)
Type of Dam: Embankment (earth fill)
Type of Dam: Embankment (earth fill)
Source: Wikimedia Commons via USAID
Tarbela Dam, which is located in Pakistan, is the largest earth filled dam in the world.
The dam created the Tarbela Reservoir, which currently has a capacity of 14.3 cubic kilometers (11,600,000 acre-feet).
The Tarbela Dam was built over the Indus River.
Before the dam was built in the late 1960s through the late 1970s, the flow of the Indus River was unpredictable.
The Tarbela Dam is currently undergoing its fifth extension, which will increase the dam’s electricity generation capacity by 1,410 MW.
Location: Montana, USA
Type of Dam: Hydraulic earth fill
Source: Wikimedia Commons via Harry Weddington, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Fort Peck Dam is another large dam located along the Missouri River in the United States.
Fort Peck Dam has been in operation since 1940 and produces an annual average 2.6 million mega-watt hours of electricity.
Fort Peck Lake, the reservoir created by the dam, is the fifth largest man-made lake in the United States.
Fort Peck Dam provides much needed water to Montana, which experienced severe droughts before the dam was completed in 1940.
Fort Peck Dam also made it easier to navigate the Missouri River and the dam was actually the first dam built in the upper Missouri River Basin.
The construction of Fort Peck Dam provided jobs to over 50,000 people.
Location: South Dakota, USA
Type of Dam: Embankment (rolled earth fill and shale berms)
Source: Wikimedia Commons via Wtshymanski
Source: Wikimedia Commons via Wtshymanski
Oahe Dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers throughout the late 1940s to late 1950s.
The Oahe Dam forms Lake Oahe, which is the fourth largest reservoir in the United States.
Lake Oahe has a capacity of 29 cubic kilometers (23,137,000 acre-feet).
The Oahe Dam generates most of the electricity for the north-central United States.
Oahe Dam provides enough electricity to power over 259,000 homes annually.
Location: North Dakota, USA
Reservoir Volume: 29.383 km³ (23,821,000 acre-ft)
Reservoir Volume: 29.383 km³ (23,821,000 acre-ft)
Reservoir Volume: 29.383 km³ (23,821,000 acre-ft)
Reservoir Volume: 29.383 km³ (23,821,000 acre-ft)
Reservoir Volume: 29.383 km³ (23,821,000 acre-ft)
Reservoir Volume: 29.383 km³ (23,821,000 acre-ft)
Type of Dam: Embankment (rolled earth fill)
Source: Wikimedia Commons via George Stringham
The Garrison Dam is another large dam in the United States and is located on the Missouri River.
The reservoir formed by Garrison Dam is called Lake Sakakawea, which has a volume of 29 cubic kilometers (23,821,000 acre-ft).
Lake Sakawea is the third largest reservoir in the United States.
Garrison Dam is the fifth largest earthen dam in the world and has a height of 64 meters (210 feet) and a length of 3,444 meters (11,300 feet).
Although the Garrison Dam is an important source of power and irrigation for the surrounding areas, the building of the dam displaced Native Americans and flooded their farmlands.
Source: Wikimedia Commons via Le Grand Portage
Overall, the Three Gorges Dam in China is considered the largest dam in the world (but we arranged this list by reservoir volume).
Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant and has a installed capacity of 22,500 MW.
While the Three Gorges Dam may be impressive in both size and power output, it is considered one of the world’s biggest environmental disasters.
The building of the Three Gorges Dam has displaced more than 1.2 million people; caused flooding in nearby towns and cities; has polluted the nearby water and land, threatening the local plants and animals; and has increased the seismic activity in the area.
Source: Wikimedia Commons via Alen Ištoković
The Atatürk Dam is located on the Euphrates river in southeast Turkey.
Atatürk Dam is the largest of the 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric stations found along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.
The dam’s reservoir has a volume of 48.7 cubic kilometers (11.68 cubic miles).
The Atatürk Dam itself is quite large with a height of 169 meters (554 feet) and a length of 1,819 meters (5,968 feet).
The Atatürk Dam is part of Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), which is a network of dams, hydroelectric stations, and irrigation canals built in the Euphrates, Tigris, and Upper Mesopotamia basins.
The GAP project is expected to be completed in 2020 and will supply water to around 1.8 million hectares of land and also generate about 7,476 MW of power.
Location: Aswan, Egypt
Type of Dam: Embankment
Type of Dam: Embankment
Source: Wikimedia Commons via Orlova-tpe
The Aswan High Dam is located near Aswan, Egypt close to the border of Sudan.
The Aswan High Dam lies across the Nile River and its reservoir is called Lake Nasser, which is one of the biggest man-made lakes in the world.
Lake Nasser has a capacity of 132 km³ (107,000,000 acre-ft) and the water is used to irrigate the surrounding land in both Egypt and Sudan.
Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970 and since then, the dam has helped to control the annual flooding of the Nile River.
Additionally, the Aswan High Dam provides about half of Egypt’s power supply.
Location: Necuima Canyon, Bolívar, Venezuela
Reservoir Volume: 135 km³ (32.39 cu mi)
Reservoir Volume: 135 km³ (32.39 cu mi)
Reservoir Volume: 135 km³ (32.39 cu mi)
Reservoir Volume: 135 km³ (32.39 cu mi)
Type of Dam: Gravity/Embankment
Source: Wikimedia Commons via Tyraelux
Guri Dam in Bolívar, Venezuela is the largest dam in the world based on reservoir volume.
The dam’s reservoir can hold up to 135 cubic kilometers (32.39 cu mi) of water.
Guri Dam is also one of the world’s tallest dams with a height of 162 m (531 ft).
In addition to holding back the Caroni River, the Guri Dam is also a hydroelectric power plant and the second largest in the world based on installed capacity, which is 10,235 MW.
The Guri Dam provides about 73% of Venezuela’s energy needs.
Guri Dam provides about 12,900GW/h of energy to the entire country of Venezuela.
Kariba dam is the biggest dam in the world by reservoir capacity, Image courtesy of Sokwanele – Zimbabwe.
Bratsk Dam in Siberia has a water storage capacity of 169.27 billion cubic metres, Image courtesy of Michael Fludkov.
Akosombo dam, which creates the Lake Volta, has 144 billion cubic metres of storage capacity.
Image courtesy of ZSM.
Daniel Johnson Dam, also known as Manic 5 Dam, has a reservoir capacity of 139.8 billion cubic metres.
Image courtesy of Bouchel 20:56.
Guri Dam in Venezuela has the fifth biggest reservoir in the world.
Image courtesy of jmaldona.
Aswan high dam, the third biggest in the world, impounds the River Nile and creates Lake Nasser.
Image courtesy of Hajor.
W.A.C Bennett Dam, constructed on the Peace River, creates the Williston Lake.
Image courtesy of tuchodi.
Krasnoyarsk Dam in Russia is the eighth biggest dam by reservoir capacity.
Image courtesy of Alex Polezhaev.
Robert-Bourassa is the tenth biggest dam in the world with a reservoir capacity of 61.7 billion cubic metres.
Image courtesy of P199.
Kariba Dam is the world’s biggest dam based on water storage capacity.
Located at the former Kariwa (Kariba) Gorge, the dam creates Lake Kariba, which has a storage capacity of 185 billion cubic metres of water and a surface area of 5,580km2.
The Lake Kariba covers a length of 280km and is 32km wide at its widest section.
The double curvature concrete arch dam is owned by Zambezi River Authority and was constructed between 1955 and 1959 by Impresit of Italy.
The dam is 128m high, 617m in length, and was constructed using 1.036 million cubic metres of concrete.
It comprises of two power stations generating a combined 1,470MW of energy, which constitutes approximately 60% of the hydropower outputs for Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Bratsk Dam in Siberia, Russia, ranks as the second biggest dam in the world thanks to its 169.27 billion cubic metres reservoir.
The dam impounds the Angara River and the reservoir created by it covers a surface area of 5,540km2.
The concrete gravity dam is owned by Irkutskenergo and was constructed from 1954 to 1964 by Bratskgesstroy (formerly Nizhneangargesstroy management).
The dam is 125m high and 1,452m in length, and has a rail line and a highway on its top.
The power plant at the dam has an installed capacity of 4,500MW comprising of 18 Francis turbines.
Akosombo dam, located in Ghana, is the third biggest dam based on water storage capacity.
Constructed on the Volta River, the dam creates the 8,500km2 Lake Volta, which is the world’s biggest reservoir by surface area.
The lake impounds a mammoth 144 billion cubic metres of water.
The rock-fill embankment dam has a crest length of about 700m and a height of 134m, and involved 12 million cubic metres of surface excavation.
It was constructed from 1961 to 1966 primarily for the purpose of electricity generation, but also provides a livelihood for about 300,000 people through fisheries in the lake.
Volta River Authority owns the dam and IMPREGILO-Italy was the main construction contractor.
The power plant at the dam consists of six turbo generator units rated at 128,000kW each.
The Daniel Johnson Dam, also known as Manic 5 Dam, impounds the Manicouagan River that creates the Manicouagan Reservoir with a storage capacity of 139.8 billion cubic metres.
The reservoir, having a surface area of 1,973km2, is the fourth biggest in the world.
The dam is also touted as the world’s biggest hollowbody multiple-arch-and-buttress dam.
It is 1,310.6m long and 213.97m high, and features 14 buttresses and 13 arches.
It was constructed using 2.2 million cubic metres of concrete.
The dam’s two power stations feature 12 units with a combined installed capacity of 2,660MW.
Guri, the world’s fifth biggest dam, has a storage capacity of 135 billion cubic metres and creates the Guri Lake covering 4,000km2.
The concrete gravity and embankment dam measures 1,300m in length and 16m in height, and provides for 70% of the country’s electricity needs.
The dam’s construction was carried out in two stages, which commenced in 1963 and completed in 1986.
The Guri hydropower facility has an installed capacity of more than 10,000MW.
Aswan High Dam, Egypt
The Aswan High Dam, which impounds the River Nile and creates Lake Nasser, is the sixth biggest dam based on water storage capacity.
The dam’s reservoir, Lake Nasser, has a water storage capacity of 132 billion cubic metres.
The rock-fill dam was designed by Institute Hydroproject of Russia in collaboration with various engineers from Egypt.
The dam’s power plant is equipped with 12 Francis turbines with a combined installed capacity of 2,100MW.
The multipurpose dam serves the irrigation needs of both Egypt and Sudan, controls flooding, generates power, and helps in improving navigation across the Nile.
It is 111m in height, 3,830m in length, and has a base width of 980m.
Its single spillway has a water discharge capacity of 11,000 cubic metres a second.
W.A.C Bennett Dam, constructed on the Peace River in British Columbia, Canada, creates the Williston lake.
The dam ranks as the seventh largest with a storage capacity of approximately 74 billion cubic metres and covers a surface area of 1,773km2.
The earth fill embankment dam is operated by B.C Hydro, and has a height of 183m andcrest length of 2,068m.
The construction of the dam was commenced in 1961 and completed in 1967.
The power generating station at the dam, known as the G.M. Shrum Generating Station, has an installed capacity of 2,790MW and started generating electricity in 1968.
The world’s eighth biggest dam is the Krasnoyarsk Dam, which impounds the Yenisey River and creates the Krasnoyarskoye reservoir with a storage capacity of 73.3 billion cubic metres.
The reservoir covers a surface area of 2,000km2 and has a shoreline of approximately 1,560km.
The concrete gravity dam is 124m high, 1,065m in length, and was constructed from1956 to 1972.
It is designed with a flood discharge capacity of 20,400m3 per second.
The power station of the dam features 12 units with a combined installed capacity of 6,000MW, used primarily to power aluminium plants owned by RUSAL Company.
The water from the reservoir also serves the purpose of irrigation.
The Zeya Dam, built on the Zeya River in the Amur Oblast of Russia, north of the Chinese border, creates the Zeya reservoir with a storage capacity of 68.42 billion cubic metres, which is the ninth biggest dam based on reservoir capacity.
The reservoir covers a surface area of 2,419km2.
The concrete gravity dam has an overall height of 112m, a crest length of 714.2m, and was constructed utilising 2.067 million cubic metres of concrete.
The Zeya Dam is owned by RusHydro and was constructed by Zeyagesstroy and Bureyagesstroy from 1964 to 1975.
The dam’s power plant comprises of six generating units with a combined installed capacity of 1,290MW.
The power plant features the world’s first adjustable-blade diagonal-flow turbines.
The Robert Bourassa Dam impounding the La Grande River in northern Quebec, Canada, creates the Robert-Bourassa Reservoir.
It is the world’s tenth biggest dam and has a reservoir capacity of 61.7 billion cubic metres covering a surface area of 2,815km2.
The embankment dam is 162m high and 2,835m in length, and features a spillway which has a capacity to release17,600m3 of water per second.
The dam is owned by Hydro-Québec and was constructed from 1974 to 1981.
The dam is owned by Hydro-Québec and was constructed from 1974 to 1981.
The dam’s two power plants are fitted with 16 Francis turbines having a combined installed capacity of 5,616MW.
Alstom is carrying out a major refurbishment and upgrade of the dam’s power stations.
World’s biggest dam removal and restoration project
Removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon hydroelectric dams, currently underway in the state of Washington’s Olympic National Park, is not only the world’s largest-ever dam removal, but is also the second largest ecosystem restoration project in the American National Park System.