The Almendra Dam, also known as Villarino 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 1963 and 1970.

Almendra Dam
Main arch section (left) Buttress section (right)
Location of Almendra Dam in Spain
Coordinates	41°16′7.83″N 6°19′13.43″W
Construction began	1963
Opening date	1970
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Arch with buttress section
Impounds	River Tormes
Height	202 m (663 ft)
Length	567 m (1,860 ft)
Dam volume	2,186,000 m3 (2,859,180 cu yd)
Spillways	2
Spillway capacity	3,039 m3/s (107,321 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Total capacity	2,500,000,000 m3 (2,026,783 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area	7,100 km2 (2,741 sq mi)[1]
Surface area	86.5 km2 (33.4 sq mi)
Villarino Power Station
Coordinates	41°15′42.69″N 6°29′36.38″W
Operator(s)	Iberdrola
Commission date	1970-1977
Type	Conventional, diversion
Turbines	6 x 135 MW Francis-type
Installed capacity	810 MW

The arch dam forms part of the hydroelectric system known as the Saltos del Duero (in English "the Duero Drops"), along with the Castro, Ricobayo, Saucelle 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.

The dam supplies the Villarino Power Station with water via a tunnel for hydroelectric power generation. It is located underground about 14 km (8.7 mi) west of the dam. Water discharged from the power station enters the Douro River. The power station has an installed capacity of 810 MW and was completed in 1977.[2]

Gallery

References

• Estado del Embalse de Almendra (State of the Almendra Reservoir).(in Spanish)
• Estado de los embalses de la cuenca del Duero (State of the reservoirs in the Duero Basin).(in Spanish)
• 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").(in Spanish)
• Sociedad Española de Presas y Embalses (Spanish Society of Dams and Reservoirs).(in Spanish)

External links

• Media related to Almendra Dam at Wikimedia Commons

На других языках

[de] Almendra-Talsperre

[es] Presa de Almendra