Almendra Dam

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The Almendra Dam in Salamanca, Spain, interrupts the course of the River Tormes five kilometres from the village from which it takes its name: Almendra (literally, almond). It was constructed between 1964 and 1970.

The dam forms part of the hydroelectric system known as the Duero Drops, along with the Castro, Ricobayo, Suacelle and Villalcampo dams of Spain, and the Bemposta, Miranda and Picote dams of nearby Portugal.

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

[edit] References (in Spanish)

• Estado del Embalse de Almendra (State of the Almendra Reservoir).
• Estado de los embalses de la cuenca del Duero (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).