List of largest dams explained

The following table lists the largest man-made dams by volume of fill/structure. By general definition, a dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams, hence tailings dams are relegated to a separate list. Data on volume of structure is not as easily available or reliable as data on dam height and reservoir volume.

Type: TE - Earth; ER - Rock-fill; PG - Concrete gravity; CFRD - Concrete face rock fill; AG - Arch-gravity.

Rank	Name	Country	Year completed	data-sort-type="number" scope="col"	Structure volume	data-sort-type="number" scope="col"	Structure height	data-sort-type="number" scope="col"	Reservoir volume	data-sort-type="number" scope="col"	Installed capacity	Type
1	Tarbela Dam^[1]		1976	153	143	13.7	4,888	TE/ER
2	Fort Peck Dam^[2]		1940	96	76.4	23	185	TE
3	Atatürk Dam^[3]		1990	84.5	166	48.7	2,400	TE/ER
4	Houtribdijk		1968	78	13	2^[4]	0	TE/ER
5	Oahe Dam		1963	70.3	75	29	786	TE/ER
6	Mangla Dam		1967	65.4	147	7.25	1,000	TE or TE/ER
7	Gardiner Dam^[5]		1967	65.4	64	9.4	186	TE
8	Oroville Dam		1968	59.6	230	4.36	819	TE/ER
9	San Luis Dam (BF Sisk Dam)		1967	59.6	93	2.52	424	TE
10	Nurek Dam		1980	54	300	10.5	3,200	TE
11	Samara Dam		1955	54	52	57.3	2,315	TE or ER
12	Garrison Dam^[6]		1954	50.8	64	29	583.3	TE
13	Cochiti Dam		1975	50.2	76.5	0.73	NA	TE
14	Aswan Dam^[7]		1970	44.3	111	169	2,100	TE/ER
15	W. A. C. Bennett Dam		1968	43.7	186	7.4	2,876	TE
16	San Roque Dam		2003	40^[8]	200	0.835	345	TE or ER
17	Fort Randall Dam		1953	38.2	50.3	6.7	320	TE/ER
18	Afsluitdijk		1932	36.5	13	5.5	0	TE/ER
19	Kölnbrein Dam		1979	35.2	200	0.2	1,028.5	TE
21	Guri Dam		1978	29.8	162	135	10,235	PG/ER
22	Three Gorges Dam		2008	27.4^[9]	181	39.3	22,500	PG
23	Indira Sagar Dam		2005	12.2	92	9.75	1,000	PG

List of largest tailings dams

Type: TE - Earth; ER - Rock-fill; PG - Concrete gravity; CFRD - Concrete face rock fill.

Rank	Name	Country	Year completed	data-sort-type="number" scope="col"	Structure volume	data-sort-type="number" scope="col"	Structure height	data-sort-type="number" scope="col"	Reservoir volume	data-sort-type="number" scope="col"	Installed capacity	Type
1	Syncrude Tailings Dam Mildred MLSB^[10]		1995	540^[11] /720	88	0.35	NA	TE
2	Syncrude Tailings Dam#South West Sand Storage (SWSS)^[12]		2010	119	40-50	0.25	NA	TE
3	ASARCO Mission Mine Tailings Dam		1972	40.1	30^[13]	0^[14]	NA	ER

See also

• List of reservoirs by volume
• List of tallest dams
• List of conventional hydroelectric power stations
• List of largest hydroelectric power stations

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tarbela Dam Project . https://web.archive.org/web/20150725152006/http://www.wapda.gov.pk/pdf/terbeladam.pdf. 2015-07-25. dead . WAPDA . 2015-07-25.
2. Web site: Archived copy. 2022-05-25. 2012-02-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20120207121436/http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/projdata/summaryengdat.pdf. dead.
3. Web site: Archived copy . 2010-09-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110818154220/http://ipac.kacst.edu.sa/eDoc/2006/157250_1.pdf . 2011-08-18 .
4. 700 km × 3 m
5. Web site: South Saskatchewan River ProjectFact Sheet. 2010-12-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110706204127/http://www.swa.ca/Publications/Documents/FS-308.pdf . 2011-07-06 .
6. Web site: Archived copy. 2022-05-25. 2012-02-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20120207121436/http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/projdata/summaryengdat.pdf. dead.
7. Web site: Embankment dams | Structurae . En.structurae.de . 2011-02-16.
8. Web site: San Roque Dam . NAPOCOR . 2015-07-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150824233021/http://www.napocor.gov.ph/NPCDams/index.php/our-dams/san-roque-dam . 2015-08-24 . dead .
9. Book: New Developments in Dam Engineering . 9780203020678 . 2015-07-25. Wieland . Martin . Ren . Qingwen . Tan . John S. Y. . 14 May 2014 . CRC Press .
10. D. Nicol (1994) "The Syncrude Mildred Lake Tailings Dyke Redesign", 18th Int. Congr. Large Dams.
11. Estimate based on height, dimensions from Google Earth and, where available, cross section. Accuracy ±15%
12. Web site: Microsoft Word - Baseline Report on Fluid Deposits revE . 2011-02-16.
13. Estimate based on structure volume and dimensions from Google Earth
14. Zero reservoir size because full of tailings