Vidraru Dam
Encyclopedia
Vidraru Dam is a dam
in Romania
. It was built in 1965 on the Argeş River
.
It is an arch dam
built on a foundation of rock, and it was built to produce hydroelectricity
. Its construction created a reservoir, Lake Vidraru
. The dam's height is 166 meters, the arch length 305 meters, water accumulation volume 465 million cubic meters, the reservoir has a total shoreline (perimeter) length of 28km.
Situated between Frunţii Mountains and Ghiţu mountains, the lake collects the Capra, Buda and some other smaller rivers (Râul Doamnei, Cernatu and Vâlsan, Topolog, Valea lui Stan and Limpedea), with a total flow of about 5.5 million l /s. The total surface of the lake is 3,930,000 sq m, 10.3 km in length, with a maximum width of 2.2 km in the Valea Lupului zone - Călugăriţa. Normal level or water retention is 830.00 meters above the sea level (mdM).
The dam's construction took 5 and a half years. It required 42km of subterranean tunnels, excavation of 1,768,000 cubic meters of hard rocks, out of which approximatively 1 million had to be extracted from underground, 930,000 cubic meters of concrete, out of which 400,000 cubic meters were underground and required the installation of 6,300 tons of electro-mechanical equipment.
When completed, it ranked 5th in Europe, and 9th in the world. In an average hydrological year it can generate approximately of 400 GWh/year.
The Vidraru Hydro Power Plant has an installed capacity of 220 MW.
, Episode 1 of the BBC Motoring programme Top Gear. The three presenters had slept in their cars overnight while on their way to find the world's best driving road in Romania
and woke up in the shadow of the Vidraru Dam.
The bungee jump before the opening credits of the James bond film, Goldeneye was filmed at the Verzasca Dam in Ticino, Switzerland, not this dam, as widely believed.
Tourist pictures:
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 Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. It was built in 1965 on the Argeş River
Arges River
Argeș is a river of Southern Romania. It starts at the junction of headwaters Buda and Capra in the Făgăraș Mountains, in the Southern Carpathians and flows into the Danube at Oltenița.The main city on the Argeş is Piteşti...
.
It is an arch dam
Arch dam
An arch dam is a type of dam that is curved and commonly built with concrete. The arch dam is a structure that is designed to curve upstream so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, compressing and strengthening the structure as it pushes...
built on a foundation of rock, and it was built to produce hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
. Its construction created a reservoir, Lake Vidraru
Lake Vidraru
Lake Vidraru is an artificial lake in Romania. It was created in 1965 by the construction of the Vidraru Dam on the Argeş River.It lies in the shadow of the Făgăraş Mountains...
. The dam's height is 166 meters, the arch length 305 meters, water accumulation volume 465 million cubic meters, the reservoir has a total shoreline (perimeter) length of 28km.
Situated between Frunţii Mountains and Ghiţu mountains, the lake collects the Capra, Buda and some other smaller rivers (Râul Doamnei, Cernatu and Vâlsan, Topolog, Valea lui Stan and Limpedea), with a total flow of about 5.5 million l /s. The total surface of the lake is 3,930,000 sq m, 10.3 km in length, with a maximum width of 2.2 km in the Valea Lupului zone - Călugăriţa. Normal level or water retention is 830.00 meters above the sea level (mdM).
The dam's construction took 5 and a half years. It required 42km of subterranean tunnels, excavation of 1,768,000 cubic meters of hard rocks, out of which approximatively 1 million had to be extracted from underground, 930,000 cubic meters of concrete, out of which 400,000 cubic meters were underground and required the installation of 6,300 tons of electro-mechanical equipment.
When completed, it ranked 5th in Europe, and 9th in the world. In an average hydrological year it can generate approximately of 400 GWh/year.
The Vidraru Hydro Power Plant has an installed capacity of 220 MW.
Trivia
The Vidraru Dam made an appearance in the Series 14Top Gear (series 14)
Top Gear returned for a 14th series, aired on BBC Two and BBC HD, on 15 November 2009, with the usual presenting team of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig. The series contained 7 episodes...
, Episode 1 of the BBC Motoring programme Top Gear. The three presenters had slept in their cars overnight while on their way to find the world's best driving road in Romania
Transfagarasan
The Transfăgărășan or DN7C, also known as Ceaușescu's folly is the second-highest paved road in Romania, and considered by some to be the most dramatic...
and woke up in the shadow of the Vidraru Dam.
The bungee jump before the opening credits of the James bond film, Goldeneye was filmed at the Verzasca Dam in Ticino, Switzerland, not this dam, as widely believed.
External links
Tourist pictures: