Lake Marathon or the Marathon Reservoir (Greek: ''Λίμνη Μαραθώνος'' 'Limni Marathónos''or ''Λίμνη Μαραθώνα'' 'Limni Marathóna'' is a water supply

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 ...

formed from the construction of Marathon Dam at the junction of Charadros and

Varnavas Varnavas ( el, Βαρνάβας "Barnabas") is a town in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Marathon, of which it is a municipal unit. It is part of Athens metropolitan area. Geography Va ...

Torrents near the town of Marathon,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. It was the primary water supply for

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

from 1931, when it became operational, until 1959. In 1959 water from

Lake Yliki Lake Yliki ( el, Υλίκη ''Yliki'', Ancient Greek: Ὑλίκη ''Hylike'', Latinised as ''Hylica'') is a large natural lake of Boeotia, central Greece. Situated 8 km north of Thebes at 78 m elevation, it has been an important source of drinking ...

became available, and water from Mornos Reservoir became available in 1981. Lake Marathon Dam, Greece

The area of the lake at the height of the spillway of the dam is 2.45 square kilometres, the maximum depth is 54 m, the lake concentrates water from a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of 118 square kilometres with an average runoff of 14,400,000 m³ per year in an average rainfall of 580 mm per year, the average inbound volume is 12,000,000 m³ per year and the maximum reservoir capacity is 41,000,000 m³ (effective volume 34,000,000 m³). The dam has a maximum height (from foundation to crest) of 54 m, a maximum width of 28 m at the base and 4.5 m at the crest. Its length is 285 m. The crest is 227 m above sea level, the toe is 173 m above sea level, and the spillway is 223 m above sea level. The spillway disgorges 520 m³/s. The dam is constructed from concrete and is a gravity dam. It is unique worldwide because its external cladding of white pentelikon

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

is the same marble used in construction of the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...

and the other buildings in the Acropolis. The dam was constructed by the American firm ULEN (which had, in a BOT type contract, the ownership of the water supply company of Athens until 1974). It was constructed to meet the increased water demand caused by the rapid population increase in the Athens area following the huge influx of refugees from

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

during and after the end of Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). The construction lasted from 1926 to 1929.

External links

* {{commonscat-inline, Marathon Lake, Lake Marathon
EYDAP SA Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company
Marathon Marathon Landforms of Attica Landforms of East Attica

See also

External links