EUROPE’S LARGEST DAM

Grey River Argus, 6 September 1930, Page 11

EUROPE’S LARGEST DAM

LAKE 17 MILES LONG. A group of some hundred engineer-; iron, the World Power Congre s, in Bcrl’iu recently enjoyed the opportunity to inspect the Edcrtal dam,, the [largest in Europe. The lake formed by , the impounded wafer is nearly 17 miles long, five-eights of a mile wide in the widest place, and has an ex trema depth of 137 ft. Three villages were iuun''at( d and their inrabitants settled in new villages. The dam, wfnieh is nearly isoft. high. 900 ft. lone at the bottom and 1300 ft. long a‘ (he top, retains nearly 54 billion gallons of water. It has the four-fold purpose of maintaining suf ficicirt water in tin' V user fos shipping feeding »1« Miitelland Canal, preventing floods an'l furnishing water for power. The lake itself has been com‘pared Io the fainou; Vierwaldst atter Lake. Above it stands the ancient .castle ot t’ne ruling princes ,of Waldeck. On the way to the. dam the engineers inspected a new pump station and power installation at Bri.nkhausen. Here water is pumped to the. top of a , hill. 10001 T. high., and 200,000 kih--[watt< of current are generated as it flows back.