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Aswan High Dam Egypt. Before the dam was built. the Nile River overflowed its banks once a year But there were some years when the river did not rise at all No one knew exactly when the floods would occur. Flood plain of the Nile. The Aswan Dam. Capture flood water
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Before the dam was built • the Nile River overflowed its banks once a year • But there were some years when the river did not rise at all • No one knew exactly when the floods would occur Flood plain of the Nile
The Aswan Dam • Capture flood water • Increased land productivity • 1899, construction of the first Aswan Dam was begun • Completed in 1902, its height was raised in subsequent building campaigns of 1907-12 and 1929-34 Original Aswan Dam, at a 100 ft. height
Lake Nassar • Lake Nasser was created behind the Aswan High Dam
Aswan High Dam • Located in Aswan, Egypt, 4 miles south of the old Aswan Dam • The Aswan High Dam is • 11,811 feet long • 3215 feet thick at the base • 364 feet tall
Facts about Aswan High Dam • 12 turbines which generate over 10 billion kilowatts of electricity every year • Construction started on the dam in 1960 and it was completed in 1971 • 30,000 Egyptian people worked day and night to build the Aswan High Dam
Advantages of the Dam • It is also a hydro-electric power station • Created many jobs while being built • Factories also use the water for cooling and for making things • Plenty of fresh and clean drinking water for the people of Egypt
Advantages continued • The Aswan High Dam has made the River Nile more navigable • The Aswan High Dam keeps the depth of the water in the Nile at the same level throughout the year – people are safe! • Farmers use water from the River Nile to irrigate their crops
Disadvantages of the Dam • The land of Nubia had to be flooded to create the reservoir, which is 310 miles in length • 10,000 people had to move from their homes in Nubia to other places in Egypt • Sometimes the Aswan High Dam gets blocked by silt and mud
Disadvantages continued • The temples of Abu Simbel had to be moved • The Nile delta is becoming smaller • Wildlife is losing its home because the delta is shrinking in size
Today • About 95 percent of Egypt’s population lives within 12 miles of the Nile River • More than half of Egypt’s soil is rated medium to poor • Increased tourism utilizing the Nile River • Farmers are forced to use one million tons of artificial fertilizer
You decide ….. Should the Aswan High Dam stay or go?