Alcántara Dam

Dam in Extremadura, Spain

39°43′48″N 6°53′05″W / 39.73000°N 6.88472°W / 39.73000; -6.88472StatusOperationalOpening date1969Dam and spillwaysType of damButtressHeight130 m (427 ft)Length570 m (1,870 ft)Dam volume956,000 m³ (1,250,401 cu yd)Spillways2Spillway capacity8,000 m³/s (282,517 cu ft/s)ReservoirTotal capacity3,160,000,000 m³ (2,561,854 acre⋅ft)Catchment area51,916 km² (20,045 sq mi)^[1]Power StationCommission date1969-1970Turbines4 x 229 MW Francis-typeInstalled capacity915 MW^[2]

The Alcántara Dam, also known as the José María de Oriol Dam, is a buttress dam on the Tagus River near Alcántara in the province of Cáceres, Spain. It is named after the politician and captain of the Spanish electricity industry José María de Oriol y Urquijo. The dam regulates much of the flow of the Tagus River, the longest of the Iberian Peninsula. It was built in 1969 and is the second largest reservoir in Europe.^[3]^[4]

The Roman Alcántara Bridge is located 600 m downstream from the dam.

References

^ "Jose Maria de Oriol (Alcantara II)" (in Spanish). Spanish Society of Reservoirs and Dams. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
^ "The hydroelectric Jose Maria de Oriol, one of the greatest in Spain" (in Spanish). Iberdrola. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
^ "Integrated Water Resources Management: STRIVER efforts to assess the current status and future possibilities in four river basins". Retrieved 2014-02-04.
^ ""Bulletin" - Striver". Retrieved 2014-02-04.