The Almendra Dam, also known as Villarino Dam, in

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, interrupts the course of the

River Tormes The Tormes is a Spanish river, that starts in Prado Tormejón, in the mountain range of Gredos, Navarredonda de Gredos, province of Ávila. It crosses the provinces of Avila and Salamanca, ending at the Duero river, at a place known locally as ...

five kilometres from the village from which it takes its name: Almendra (literally,

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

). It was constructed between 1963 and 1970. The

arch dam An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthen ...

forms part of the

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

system known as the ''Saltos del Duero'' (in English "the Duero Drops"), along with the Castro,

Ricobayo Ricobayo is a locality in the province of Zamora, Spain. Formerly a municipality in its own right, it is part of Muelas del Pan. Bridge Long important as a crossing-point on the River Esla, Ricobayo's original bridge is now under water, havin ...

Saucelle Saucelle is a municipality located in the Salamanca (province), province of Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain. As od 2016 the municipality has a population of 308 inhabitants. References

Municipalities in the Province of Salamanca {{S ...

and Villalcampo dams of Spain, and the Bemposta, Miranda and

Picote Dam Picote Dam ( pt, Barragem de Picote, links=no) is a concrete arch dam on the Douro, located in the municipality Miranda do Douro, in Bragança District, Portugal. Construction of the dam began in 1953. The dam was completed in 1958. It is owned b ...

s of nearby

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. The

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

that backs up behind the dam covers 86.5 square kilometres and contains 2.5 billion cubic metres of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

as well as several drowned villages, among them Argusinos. The dam is more than half a kilometre wide and, at a height of 202 metres, one of Spain's tallest structures. The dam supplies the Villarino Power Station with water via a tunnel for

power generation. It is located underground about west of the dam. Water discharged from the power station enters the

Douro River The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part of ...

. The power station has an installed capacity of 810 MW and was completed in 1977.

Gallery

Presa Almendra desembalsando.jpg Carretera de la presa de Almendra.jpg Barragem de Almendra (vista de avião).jpg

References

Estado del Embalse de Almendra
(State of the Almendra Reservoir).

(State of the reservoirs in the Duero Basin).
Evolución de las presas en España, ''El caso de "Los Saltos del Duero"''
(Evolution of the dams of Spain: the case of "the Duero Drops").
Sociedad Española de Presas y Embalses
(Spanish Society of Dams and Reservoirs).

External links

* {{GeoGroupTemplate Buildings and structures in the Province of Salamanca Dams in Spain Hydroelectric power stations in Spain Dams completed in 1970 Energy infrastructure completed in 1977 Arch dams Underground power stations 1977 establishments in Spain 1970 establishments in Spain Buttress dams Energy in Castile and León