The Ingeniero Ballester Dam is a dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 on the Neuquén River

Neuquén River

The Neuquén River is the second most important river of the province of Neuquén in the Argentine Patagonia, after the Limay River.The river is born at the northwest of the province at an altitude of 2,300 metres, to be feed by a number of streams through valleys of the lower Andes while advancing...

, in the Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 Patagonia

Patagonia

Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...

. The top of the dam doubles as a road bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

. The dam is located near the town of Barda del Medio

Barda del Medio

Barda del Medio is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina.-References:...

, province of Río Negro

Río Negro Province

Río Negro is a province of Argentina, located at the northern edge of Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.Its capital is Viedma...

, downstream from the El Chañar Dam (the last part of the Cerros Colorados Complex

Cerros Colorados Complex

The Cerros Colorados Complex is a group of dams and hydroelectricity generation facilities on the lower valley of the Neuquén River, in Neuquén, Argentina.-Overview:...

), and 25 kilometers (15.5 mi) from north-northeast from the city of Neuquén

Neuquén

Neuquén is the name of the following things:* Neuquén, Argentina* Neuquén Province* Neuquén River* Neuquén Group...

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The dam is used to re-route part of the flow of the Neuquén River to a long irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

 canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

 which flows east and then southeast passing by the cities of Barda del Medio, Cinco Saltos

Cinco Saltos

Cinco Saltos is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, located on the eastern side of the valley of the Neuquén River, near the Pellegrini Lake, about from northwest of Neuquén and from Allen...

, Cipolletti

Cipolletti

Cipolletti is a city in north of the Patagonian , with 75,078 inhabitants as of the .The city is located on the north-eastern shore of the Neuquén River, just before it is joined by the Limay River to form the Negro River, a short distance upstream from the city of General Roca...

, Allen

Allen, Río Negro

Allen is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina. It has 26,083 inhabitants as per the . It is located on the left-hand side of the Alto Valle of the Río Negro, near its beginning in the confluence of the Neuquén and Limay rivers, about west of General Roca and east of Neuquén.Allen was...

, General Roca

General Roca, Río Negro

General Roca is a city in the northeast of the Argentine province of Río Negro, northern Patagonia. UN/LOCODE is ARGNR.It was founded on September 1, 1879 by Coronel Lorenzo Vintter during the Conquest of the Desert...

, Ingeniero Luis A. Huergo

Ingeniero Luis A. Huergo

Ingeniero Luis A. Huergo is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina.-References:...

, and Villa Regina, and then emptying into the flood plain of the Río Negro. A second derivation dam, downstream on the canal, sends water to feed the reservoir of the Pellegrini Lake

Pellegrini Lake

The Pellegrini Lake is an artificial lake located on the Argentine Patagonia, in the province of Río Negro, near the city of Cinco Saltos, at approximately and 270 m above mean sea level....

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The Ballester Bridge over the dam is 400 meters (1,312 ft) long and 5 meters (16 ft) wide. National Route 151 crosses over it from Río Negro to the province of Neuquén

Neuquén Province

Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...

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