Aswan High Dam in Egypt (Asuan)

High Asuańska Dam, harbors the longest river in the world - Nil, the third largest water reserve in the world - Lake Nasser. The artificial lake is 5,244 km² area and 510 km long.

To build the dam, you used as much stone as it would have to build 17 Great Pyramids - one of the 7 wonders of the world.

The dam is 111 meters high and 3.6 km wide at its peak. The thickness at the base is 975 m, while at the top is 40 m. A four-lane road runs along the dam.

Nearly 95% of the Egyptian population lives less than 12 miles from the Nile River. Before building the dam, more or less once a year the river poured over the embankments flooding dry fields and making them fertile and fertile. But there were years when the river did not rise sufficiently and did not moisturise the areas, causing drought and hunger. President Abdal-Nasser commissioned the construction of a dam to control the annual floods.

Tama generates an unimaginable amount of electricity - over 10 billion kilowatt hours a year. Which gives more than half of the Egyptian energy demand.

The dam was designed in Germany, but it was supported by the Soviet Union. Its completion cost a life of up to 451 people.

The negative effect of dam construction was the need to move 90,000 farmers near the construction site.

Under the water, many ancient monuments have disappeared, however some of them have been saved, including temple Abu Simbel , which was cut into pieces and then transported to a safe place and put back together.

In 1902, the old dam of el-Sadd was completed, about 6 km down the river. In its time it was the biggest dam of the world.