| Aras Dam | |
| Location Map: | Azerbaijan |
| Location Map Caption: | Location of the Aras Dam on the border of Azerbaijan and Iran |
| Coordinates: | 39.0911°N 45.4022°W |
| Country: | Iran Azerbaijan |
| Status: | O |
| Construction Began: | 1964 |
| Opening: | 1971 |
| Dam Height: | 40m (130feet) |
| Dam Length: | 1026m (3,366feet) |
| Dam Width Crest: | 8m (26feet) |
| Spillway Capacity: | 66.5m3/s |
| Res Name: | Aras Reservoir |
| Res Capacity Total: | 1.35km3 |
| Res Surface: | 145km2 |
| Plant Operator: | Azerenerji Iran Water Resources Management Company |
| Plant Commission: | 1971 |
| Plant Turbines: | 4 × 11MW |
| Plant Capacity: | 44MW |
The Aras Dam (Azerbaijani: Araz su anbarı; Persian: سد ارس) is an embankment dam on the Aras River along the border of Iran and Azerbaijan. It is located downstream of Poldasht in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran and Nakhchivan City in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and water supply.
On 11 August 1957, a protocol was signed between the Soviet Union and Iran in Tehran to construct the Aras Dam on the Aras River.[1] This was done at a time when Azerbaijan was under Soviet control. Construction on the dam began in 1963 and was completed in 1970.[2] The dam was officially inaugurated on 28 June 1971 by Iranian deputy prime minister Safi Asfia and the Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Council of Ministers Mikhail Yefremov.[3]
A supplementary protocol to the border agreement of 1954 between Iran and the Soviet Union was signed on 7 May 1970 in Moscow to re-delimit the border along the Aras Reservoir.[4]
The Aras Dam is tall from its foundation and tall from the riverbed.[2] It is an embankment type dam with sand fill and a clay core. It is long and wide on its crest.[2]
The Aras Reservoir (Azerbaijani: Araz su anbarı), also known as Aras Water Junction (Azerbaijani: Araz Su Qovsağı), is a large reservoir created by the Aras Dam and shared by Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan Republic and Iran.
At a normal water elevation of above sea level, the dam withholds a reservoir of 1.35km3 with a surface area of .[2] [5] Of the reservoir's normal capacity, 1.15km3 is active or "useful" while 0.2km3 is inactive or dead storage. The maximum storage of the reservoir is 1.75km3.[2] The reservoir is long and wide. The average depth at normal water levels is .
There are a total of four hydroelectric stations in Azerbaijan and Iran (two on each side) with four turbines. The discharge capacity of one spillway of a station is 66.5m3/s.
Since its opening, the reservoir has provided irrigation water for of arable land in Azerbaijan and Iran, including about in Dasht-e Moghan area.[6] [7]
The dam's power station contains four turbine-generators for a capacity of each. Two of the generators are on the Iranian side and the other two on the Azerbaijani side, along with the dam's spillway.[2] The discharge capacity of one spillway of a station is .[6] The total installed capacity is 44 MW.[8]