Key facts
- Location
- Zambia , Zimbabwe
- Construction cost
- US$ 480 million
- Owner
- Zambezi River Authority
- Type of dam
- Arch dam
- Impounds
- Zambezi River
- Height
- 128 m (420 ft)
- Length
- 579 m (1,900 ft)
- Width crest
- 13 metres (43 ft)
- Width base
- 24 metres (79 ft)
- Creates
- Lake Kariba
- Total capacity
- 180 km (150,000,000 acre⋅ft)
- Catchment area
- 663,000 km (256,000 sq mi)
- Surface area
- 5,400 km (2,100 sq mi)
- Maximum length
- 280 km (170 mi)
- Maximum water depth
- 97 m (318 ft)
- Turbines
- North: 4 x 150 MW (200,000 hp), 2 x 180 MW (240,000 hp) Francis-type , South: 6 x 125 MW (168,000 hp), 2 x 150 MW (200,000 hp) Francis-type
- Installed capacity
- North: 960 MW, South: 1,050 MW, Total: 2,010 MW
- Annual generation
- 6,400 GWh (23,000 TJ)
via Wikipedia infobox
~12 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Kariba Dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The dam stands 128 metres (420 ft) tall and 579 metres (1,900 ft) long. The dam forms Lake Kariba, which extends for 280 kilometres (170 mi) and holds 185 cubic kilometres (150,000,000 acre⋅ft) of water.
Construction
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Kariba Dam” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.