El Carrizal Dam

Dam in Mendoza

33°18′0″S 68°43′15″W / 33.30000°S 68.72083°W / -33.30000; -68.72083PurposePower, irrigationStatusOperationalConstruction began1965Opening date1971Dam and spillwaysType of damEmbankment, earth and rock-fillImpoundsTunuyán RiverHeight46 m (151 ft)Length2,113 m (6,932 ft)Width (crest)10 m (33 ft)ReservoirTotal capacity462,000,000 m³ (375,000 acre⋅ft)Surface area34.8 km² (13.4 sq mi)Turbines2 x 8.5 MW Francis-typeInstalled capacity17 MWAnnual generation83 Mio. kWh

The El Carrizal Dam (in Spanish, Embalse El Carrizal) is a dam on the upper-middle course of the Tunuyán River, in the center-north of the province of Mendoza, Argentina upstream from the city of Rivadavia. Its reservoir measures about 15 by 5 kilometres (9.3 mi × 3.1 mi), and its maximum water level stands at 785.5 metres (2,577 ft) above the sea, covering an area of 34.8 square kilometres (13.4 sq mi). It has a maximum volume of 462 million cubic metres (16.3×10^⁹ cu ft).^[1]

The dam is used to regulate the flow of the Tunuyán River, which comes from glacial sources in the Andes, and to irrigate the otherwise arid region. The reservoir is a tourist attraction and is employed for fishing, windsurfing, sailing, etc., while its shores feature camping sites and other lodging facilities.

The waters of the dam feed a hydroelectric power station, which was built in 1971 and has an installed power generation capacity of 17 megawatts (23,000 hp).^[1]

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Inventario de Presas y Centrales Hidroeléctricas de la República Argentina 2" (PDF). Ministerio de Planificación Federal, Inversión Pública y Servicios. Retrieved 2019-05-12.