Mtera Dam

Mtera Dam
Map of Tanzania showing the location of Mtera Dam
Location Mtera, Tanzania
Coordinates 07°08′12″S 35°59′16″E / 7.13667°S 35.98778°ECoordinates: 07°08′12″S 35°59′16″E / 7.13667°S 35.98778°E
Construction began 1975
Opening date 1979
Dam and spillways
Impounds Great Ruaha River
Reservoir
Total capacity 125×106 m3 (101,000 acre·ft)
Catchment area 68,000 km2 (26,000 sq mi)
Surface area 660 km2 (250 sq mi)
Power station
Commission date 1979
Installed capacity 80 MW (110,000 hp)


Mtera Dam is a hydroelectric dam in Tanzania. The dam is located midway between Iringa and Dodoma on the border between the Iringa Region and the Dodoma Region. The travel time from Dodoma is about three hours on a gravel road.

Overview

Mtera Dam is the largest hydroelectric dam in Tanzania. It measures 660 square kilometres (250 sq mi) at full capacity. The lake is 56 kilometres (35 mi) long, and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) wide, and is feed by the Great Ruaha River and the Kisigo River. It was built from 1975 to 1979 for the purpose of regulating water level at the downstream at the Ruaha installed Kidatu Hydro-electric Dam. Its capacity is 80 megawatts (110,000 hp).

Ecology

The lake is considered one of the best places in Tanzania to observe birds, since there are at the one million dead trees in it and it has many shallow areas.[1] In addition, the waters are rich in fish. In the early 1990s were a year about 5000 tonnes of fish caught in the lake.[2]

Earthquakes

On May 23, 2012 at 05:32:46 AM, a moderate M4.3 earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) at the northern side of the lake (close to the western shore). Location of the epicenter [3]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html?action=SitHTMDetails.asp&sid=6992&m=0
  2. ↑ http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/v4110e/V4110E06.htm
  3. ↑ https://maps.google.com/maps?q=-6.9495+35.8367%28M4.3+-+TANZANIA+-+2012+May+23++05:32:46+UTC%29&ll=-7.092716,35.809937&spn=2.286606,2.469177&t=h&z=9

References

Öhman, May-Britt, Taming Exotic Beauties: Swedish Hydro Power Constructions in Tanzania in the Era of Development Assistance, 1960s - 1990s, Stockholm, 2007, PhD Thesis, http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:12267

External links