Zaza Reservoir ( es, Embalse Zaza, La Presa Zaza) is the largest man-made

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 ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. It is located in the

Sancti Spíritus Province Sancti Spíritus () is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is the identically named Sancti Spíritus. Another major city is Trinidad. Geography The southern coast of the province is flat, but the western portion of Sancti Spíritus provinc ...

in central Cuba, south-east of the city of Sancti-Spíritus and north-west of La Sierpe. It has a water mirror area of . and an average volume of 750,000,000 m³.

Overview

It was developed on the course of the Zaza River, which flows from

Sierra del Escambray The Escambray Mountains () are a mountain range in the central region of Cuba, in the provinces of Sancti Spíritus, Cienfuegos and Villa Clara. Overview The Escambray Mountains are located in the south-central region of the island, extending ab ...

to the Tunas Channel in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

and is Cuba's second longest river (after Rio Cauto). Other rivers that empty into the reservoir include the Yayabo, Taguasco and Tuinucú Rivers. The

Zaza Dam The Zaza Dam is an embankment dam on the Zaza River about southwest of Sancti Spíritus in Sancti Spíritus Province, Cuba. The dam was completed in 1972 with the primary purpose of irrigation but it also supports a small hydroelectric power stati ...

was built over a 3-year period and was completed on December 7, 1971, at a cost of 27 million

Cuban peso The Cuban peso (in Spanish , ISO 4217 code: CUP) also known as , is the official currency of Cuba. The Cuban peso historically circulated at par with the Spanish-American silver dollar from the 16th to 19th centuries, and then at par with the U ...

s. A

hydroelectric plant 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 ...

was subsequently added in 1978. The water of the reservoir is used to

irrigate Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been develop ...

the farmlands to the south all the way to the Caribbean coast. Fishing (both leisure and commercial) is also an important activity on the reservoir. One of the largest fresh water fish in the world,

arapaima gigas ''Arapaima gigas'', also known as pirarucu, is a species of arapaima native to the basin of the Amazon River. Once believed to be the sole species in the genus, it is among the largest freshwater fish. The species is an obligate air-breather, so ...

, was introduced to the waters in 1980. There are also other important fishes such as: Tilapia, Trout, Claria or Cat Fish.

References

Buildings and structures in Sancti Spíritus Reservoirs in Cuba Geography of Sancti Spíritus Province {{Cuba-geo-stub