Description of the attraction
The Aswan Dam is a structure of stone and concrete on the northern border between Egypt and Sudan. The dam is fed by the waters of the Nile River, its reservoir forms Lake Nasser.
The construction of the dam began in 1960 and was completed in 1968, but the project was officially opened in 1971. The reservoir capacity of the Aswan Dam is 132 cubic kilometers, it supplies water to 33,600 square kilometers of irrigated land. The dam covers the needs for irrigation of the territories of Egypt and Sudan, prevents floods, generates energy and helps to improve navigation on the Nile.
The first attempts to curb the waters of the Nile River were made in 1898-1902 - a dam was erected under the leadership of Sir William Wilcox. Its height was doubled in 1907-1912 and 1929-1933 in order to protect itself from floods. But the Aswan Dam was too low to control the annual flooding of the Nile. In 1952, a project for the construction of a new dam was developed, which was implemented later. The main purpose of the structure was to control the flows of the Nile River, which is the source of moisture for almost all of Egypt. Nile floods happened every year, and most of the water simply flowed into the sea. With the help of the dam, floods have become controlled, the river flow is regulated, water is supplied to the irrigation system all year round, the harvest of agricultural crops has almost doubled.
The undeniable benefit of the dam is the transformation of navigation along the Nile, which contributed to the development of tourism, the change in the depth of the river and the area of the spill gave impetus to the formation of the fishing industry. Water from the dam is used to power 12 turbines in the power plant, which supplies half of Egypt's energy needs. The reservoir also helps to retain stored water during a drought.
The Aswan Dam is 111 m high, 3830 m long, almost 1 km wide, and has 180 sluice gates. Its economic importance for the country can hardly be overestimated, in addition, the scale of construction puts the Aswan Dam on a par with such wonders of the world as the famous pyramids in the desert.
An amazing panorama of Lake Nasser and a view of the monumental structure itself opens from the wide ridge of the dam.
