Tallest embankment dam

The tallest embankment dam is the Nurek dam, Tajikistan, at 300 m (984 ft) high. Constructed between 1961 and 1980, the gigantic earth-fill structure blocks the path of Vakhsh River in order to drive nine hydroelectric turbines (commissioned 1972-79) which in turn produce 3.0 gigawatts, or 75% of Tajikistan’s power needs. A central core of cement acts a solid barrier within the 300-m-high(984-ft) rock and earth-fill construction, with a total volume of 54 million m³ (1.9 billion ft³). The Nurek dam is located 75 km (46 miles) east of the nation's capital of Dushanbe. A town nearby, also called Nurek, accommodates engineers and other workers employed at the dam’s power plant. Construction of the Nurek dam began in 1961 and was completed in 1980, during which time Tajikistan was a republic within the Soviet Union. The Nurek Reservoir created by the dam is the largest in Tajikistan, with a surface area of 98 km². Besides supplying the dam’s hydroelectric plant, stored water is also used for irrigation of local agricultural land, being transported 14 km through the Dangara irrigation tunnel before irrigating about 700 km² of farmland. The Rogunskaya dam, also across the river Vakhsh, was due to reach 335 m (1,098 ft) in height but the break-up of the former Soviet Union in 1991 prevented its completion