The Aswan Dam is a stone and concrete structure on the northern border between Egypt and Sudan. The dam is fed by the waters of the Nile River and its reservoir forms Lake Nasser.
Construction of the dam began in 1960 and was completed in 1968, but the project was officially opened in 1971. The reservoir capacity of the Aswan Dam is 132 cubic kilometres and provides water to 33600 square kilometres of irrigated land. The dam covers the irrigation needs of Egypt and Sudan, prevents flooding, generates energy and improves navigation on the Nile.
The first attempts to curb the waters of the Nile River were made in 1898-1902 - under the leadership of Sir William Wilcox, a dam was built. Its height was doubled in 1907-1912 and 1929-1933 to keep out floods. But the Aswan Dam was too low to control the annual floods of the Nile. In 1952, a new dam was designed and later implemented. The main purpose of the structure was to control the flow of the Nile River, which is the source of moisture for almost all of Egypt. Nile floods occurred annually, with most of the water simply flowing into the sea. With the help of the dam, floods became controlled, the river flow is regulated, water is supplied to the irrigation system all year round, and crop yields almost doubled.
The undeniable benefits of the dam are the transformation of navigation on the Nile, which contributed to the development of tourism, the change in the depth of the river and the area of overflow gave impetus to the formation of the fishing industry. Water from the dam is used to feed 12 turbines in power plants that supply half of Egypt's energy needs. The reservoir also helps store stored water during droughts.
The Aswan Dam is 111 metres high, 3,830 metres long, almost 1 kilometre wide and has 180 sluice gates. Its economic importance to the country can hardly be overestimated; moreover, the scale of construction puts the Aswan Dam on a par with such wonders of the world as the famous pyramids in the desert.
The wide crest of the dam offers an amazing panorama of Lake Nasser and a view of the monumental structure itself.
