Aswan High Dam and the reshaped Nile at Assuan

Aswan High Dam near Assuan in Egypt turns the Nile into a vast reservoir and a monumental earthwork that still defines the river’s southern gateway.

Aswan High Dam on the Nile near Assuan in southern Egypt is a vast rock-fill embankment that reshaped the river’s course and created the long reservoir known as Lake Nasser. Completed in 1970 after construction that began in 1960, it rises high above the riverbed and stretches for kilometres through the desert, forming one of the largest earthen dams on the Nile and a landmark of modern Egyptian engineering.

An earthwork across the Nile

Standing beside Aswan High Dam, the first impression is of a man-made ridge of rock and earth cutting straight across the river valley, broad at its base and narrow at the crest. The structure is described as a rock-fill dam with a crest length of about 3,830 m (12,570 ft) and a height of around 111 m (364 ft) above the Nile riverbed, dimensions that give its elongated profile a distinct presence against the surrounding desert hills.rock-fill dam with a crest length of 3,830 metres The base of the dam reaches close to 1,000 m (3,281 ft) in width, tapering towards the crest where a road and service structures cross from one bank to the other.earthen embankment nearly 1,000 metres wide at its base

The dam is built on a stretch of the Nile framed by granite formations south of Aswan city, a location that places the structure close to Egypt’s border with Sudan and at the southern gateway to the Nile Valley.steep granite cliffs near Aswan Approaching from Assuan, visitors encounter the dam as a long, gently sloping barrier with service roads, pylons and control buildings lining its crest. On one side lies the river flowing northwards towards Luxor and Cairo; on the other side, water spreads away into the vast reservoir that the dam holds back.

Lake Nasser and the scale of the reservoir

The reservoir behind Aswan High Dam, known internationally as Lake Nasser, is one of the largest artificial lakes associated with a single dam project. It extends for hundreds of kilometres southwards through Egyptian Nubia and into Sudan, reaching an overall length of around 500 km (310 miles) with an average width of about 12 km (7.5 miles).a huge artificial lake 500 kilometers long with an average width of 12 kilometers This expanse of water fills the desert valleys and low hills on either side of the river, replacing the narrow pre-dam Nile corridor with a broad inland sea.

In storage terms, Lake Nasser has been measured with a gross capacity in the order of 169 billion cubic metres, placing it among the largest reservoirs in the world linked to a single barrier.reservoir gross capacity of 169 billion cubic metres From viewpoints near the dam, the reservoir appears as a wide sheet of blue water dotted with islands and peninsulas, edged by rocky shores and occasional sandy slopes. The high contrast between the dark water and pale desert rock is one of the most striking visual features of the site.

Power, irrigation and twentieth-century engineering

Aswan High Dam belongs to the mid-twentieth century programme of large infrastructure on the Nile and is closely associated with the Egyptian leadership of that era, particularly Gamal Abdel Nasser. Construction began in 1960 and the main structure was completed around 1970, with a formal inauguration reported in January 1971.completed in 1970 and inaugurated in January 1971 Soviet engineering support played a major role in the project, which was planned to regulate the Nile’s annual flood, expand irrigated agriculture and provide hydroelectric power on a national scale.with Soviet aid in the 1960s Egyptians built the enormous rockfill dam

At the foot of the dam, the hydroelectric station houses twelve large turbines with an installed capacity of around 2,100 MW, a figure that has been described as capable of generating on the order of 10 billion kilowatt-hours annually at design levels.twelve Francis turbines with installed capacity of 2,100 MW The controlled release of water through the dam supports irrigation schemes on land downstream, where canals and pumping stations distribute Nile water to cultivated fields. The structure also acts as a flood-control barrier, moderating high-water events that once spread across the Nile Valley during the annual inundation.

Visiting Aswan High Dam: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Aswan High Dam stands on the Nile south of Assuan in southern Egypt, with road access from the city and routes that continue towards the reservoir shoreline.
• The dam itself forms a high embankment, and visits involve moving along broad surfaces near steep drops and large bodies of open water.
• The surrounding landscape is desert terrain with exposed rock and limited shade, and the view from the dam takes in both the river valley and Lake Nasser.
• The official language is Arabic and the currency is the Egyptian pound.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Aswan High Dam

Where is Aswan High Dam located?

Aswan High Dam crosses the Nile River near Assuan in southern Egypt, on a stretch of the river that lies close to the country’s border with Sudan.

What should visitors expect when they visit?

Visitors encounter a broad earth-and-rock embankment with service roads on its crest, steep drops towards the river and reservoir, and wide views over desert terrain and Lake Nasser.

What makes Aswan High Dam distinctive?

The dam combines a long rock-fill structure over 3,800 m (12,570 ft) in length with one of the world’s largest artificial reservoirs, Lake Nasser, placing modern engineering directly into the Nile’s desert setting.