South Dandalup 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...

 in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. It is located at 32°38′S 116°02′E, where South Dandalup River

South Dandalup River

South Dandalup River is a river in the South West region of Western Australia.The river rises at White Horse Hills North of Boddington and flows in westerly direction....

 flows out of Lake Banksiadale

Lake Banksiadale

Lake Banksiadale is a freshwater lake in Western Australia. It is located at , about six kilometres north-east of Dwellingup in the locality of Banksiadale, Shire of Murray, in the Peel region...

. The dam was built in 1971 in response to rapid population growth in Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, Western Australia's capital city, and a resources boom in the Pilbara

Pilbara region of Western Australia

The Pilbara is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia known for its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore...

.

With a reservoir capacity of 208.2 GL, it is the largest dam providing water to Perth. It has a catchment area of 311 km², a surface area of 21 km² at full storage, and a reservoir length of 22 km. The dam itself is an earthfilled embankment dam

Embankment dam

An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...

, 43 m high and 268 m wide.

Located only 6 km (4 mi) north-east of the historic town of Dwellingup

Dwellingup, Western Australia

Dwellingup is a town in Western Australia, located in a timber and fruitgrowing area in the Darling Range east-south-east of Pinjarra. At the 2006 census, Dwellingup had a population of 346.-Name:...

, and around 90 km (50 mi) from Perth, it is a popular recreation area. Western Australia's Water Corporation

Water Corporation

-Overview:The Water Corporation is the principal supplier of water, wastewater and drainage services throughout the state of Western Australia...

 manages the area, and has provided facilities including picnic areas with gas barbecue

Barbecue

Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

s, and a number of walk trails.