Besisdes tourism which is an essential part of human existence and socialization, the sound or sight of man-made lakes brings one thing to mind; “electricity”. Power has been, is, and always will be one of mankind’s top most needs. This is why dams are very crucial to us as humans.
How are lakes or man-made water bodies made? Man-made water-bodies are formed by constructing a dam across a flowing river in order to regulate the flow of water. These are known as reservoirs. These artificial lakes are constructed to store water for power generation, irrigation, and can be put to domestic and industrial use.
Here we take a look at some of the Largest Man-Made Lakes in the World.
Kariba Dam
Kariba dam is the largest man-made lake in the world. Located in Zambia and Zimbabwe, it can hold up to 180.6 cubic kilometers of water. It was constructed in 1959 on river Zambezi and has a height of 420 feet and a width of 1900 feet. Lake Kariba extends for 170 miles. The primary purpose of the dam is to generate electricity and it supplies about 1626 megawatts of electricity to Zambia and Zimbabwe. When the dam was constructed there was resettlement of approximately 57,000 people who were living in the area on both countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba controls about 90% of the total runoff of river Zambezi and has directly affected the ecology significantly in the downstream.
Lake Volta
The Akosombo Dam is also known as Volta Dam, and it is a hydro-electric generating plant on Volta River in Ghana. The Akosombo dam is the largest human-made lake in the world by surface area which is approximately 3,283 square miles and accounts for 3.6% of the land area of the whole of Ghana. However, by volume size, it is the third largest after the Bratsk reservoir in Russia. Akosombo Dam has a volume of 150 cubic kilometers, and the main purpose of the dam is to provide electricity, and its original output was 912 megawatts, which was later upgraded in 2006 to 1020 megawatts.
Manicouagan Reservoir
Manicouagan Reservoir in Canada is a multiple buttress dam, and it was constructed on Manicouagan River stretching 133 miles. The construction of the dam began in 1959 and was completed in 1970, and the primary purpose of the dam is to generate electricity and supplying water to the powerhouses. It has the capacity of 2,596 megawatts. The dam is the fourth largest in volume holding capacity of 141.8 cubic kilometers. The project is owned and operated by Hydro Quebec.
Lake Nasser
Lake Nasser is a reservoir located in the south of Egypt. The lake is approximately 341 miles long and 22 miles wide at its widest part. This man-made lake has a surface area of 2,030 square miles. The deepest part of this lake measures 600 feet. The majority of the lake lies in Egypt, but a section of the reservoir is also located in Sudan. The Sudanese refer to the body of water as Lake Nubia.
Bratsk Reservoir
The Bratsk Reservoir was constructed in Russia, on the Angara River, in 1967. This enormous body of water covers more than 2,110 square miles and is named after the nearby city of Bratsk.