The Aswan High Dam

The Aswan High Dam was not the first attempt to build a dam across the River Nile. There is evidence that the first attempts to build a dam at Aswan was more than 1000 years ago. Every year when the River Nile flooded, the high levels of water brought extra minerals and nutrients to the soil making it more fertile which in turn, made it ideal for farming.

However, as time went on, the people farming the areas wanted to regulate the water flow and the way to do this was to built a dam. It was important that water was stored for years of drought. In 1898, the British started work on a dam which was opened in 1902. However, it wasn't adequate and in 1946, the water levels almost rose over the top of the dam so a plans were started for a new dam 4 miles up river.

The Egyptian Revolution of 1954 meant the British were never to complete the new dam and instead under the rule of Gamal Abdel Nasser, work started on the Aswan High Dam. The early years of Egypt under Nasser were turbulent with events like the Suez Crisis but finally in 1960, construction began on the new dam with a significant amount of funding from the Soviet Union.

The first stage of the Aswan Dam was completed by 1964 and the reservoir started to fill. Construction on the dam wasn't finished for another 6 years and an impressive structure was born. The Aswan Dam is 3,830m long and 111m tall. At maximum capacity, it can let 11,000 cubic metres of water pass through every second.

The effects of the Aswan Dam are significant. As well as producing huge amounts of electricity giving many villages power for the first time. The effects of the floods and droughts have also been significantly reduced and as a result there is much more arable farmland in Egypt today. The vast reservoir the dam created is better known as Lake Nasser which is the largest artificial lake in the world. The lake has a superb reputation for its fishing and there is also a growing number of tourists who travel here for Lake Nasser cruises.

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Posted in: Acient Egypt