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
• 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?