Stanley Reservoir (also known as Mettur dam) located in
Salem District
Salem District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district is now divided into Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Namakkal as individual districts. Salem is the district headquarters and other major towns in the distri ...
of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
is one of largest fishing
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 ...
s in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
. It was completed in 1934 and was named after Lieutenant Colonel Sir
George Frederick Stanley
Sir George Frederick Stanley (14 October 1872 – 1 July 1938) was a British soldier and Conservative Party politician who served as a member of the UK Parliament for Preston and later, Willesden East. He also served the Governor of Madras from ...
GCSI GCIE CMG, who served as the
Governor of Madras
This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947.
English Agents
In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized be ...
from 1929 to 1934. Its main source of water is the
River Kaveri
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...
(Cauvery). Three minor tributaries –
Palar
Palar is a river of southern India. It rises in the Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka state, and flows in Karnataka, in Andhra Pradesh and in Tamil Nadu before reaching its confluence into the Bay of Bengal at Vayalur abo ...
, Chennar and Thoppar – enter the Kaveri on its course above Stanley Reservoir. The water is retained by the
Mettur Dam, Tamil Nadu.
The Stanley Reservoir is one of the largest of its kind in India with a total capacity of (93.47
Tmcft
Tmcft, (Tmc ft), (TMC), (tmc), is the abbreviation of thousand million cubic feet (1,000,000,000 = 109 = 1 billion), commonly used in India in reference to volume of water in a reservoir
or river flow.
Conversion
1 tmcft is equivalent to:
* ( ...
).(2,146,071 acre ft).
The creation of the reservoir caused the submersion of two villages, all of whose inhabitants were relocated to
Mettur
Mettur is an industrial and tourist town located in the Salem district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is best known for the Mettur Dam which is the largest dam in south India.
Mettur is also known for its power generation, chemical man ...
.
The total length of the dam is 1700 meters. The
Mettur Hydro Electric power project is also quite large. The dam, the park, the major
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 ...
power stations and hills on all sides make Mettur a
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural b ...
.
References
Reservoirs in Tamil Nadu
Kaveri River
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