Verzasca Dam
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The Contra dam (or Verzasca dam) is a 220-metre high arch hydroelectric dam in the Val Verzasca, Ticino, Switzerland. It was constructed between 1960 and 1965.
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[edit] Overview
The dam was designed by Lombardi Engineering. Made of concrete, the structure dams the Verzasca River and retains over 100 million cubic metres of water. The builder and owner is Verzasca SA, an electricity generator which has an 80-year concession to expire in 2046.[1] It generates 105MW of electricity. The designer, Dr. Lombardi, considers it one of his most aesthetically pleasing dams, primarily because of the slenderness of the concrete arch; the smaller volume of concrete also kept construction costs low.[2] It is the 25th tallest dam in the world.[3]
The dam is one of several at which the filling of the reservoir has triggered small earthquakes.[4]
[edit] Bungee Jumping
The dam leases access to a commercial bungee jump operator. Prices are around €170 per jump.[5] It is the highest permanent bungee jump in the world, which is made without guide ropes like at the Macau Tower (233m).
[edit] Popular Culture
The opening scene of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye was filmed here. The dam doubled as the fictional Arkhangelsk Chemical Weapons Facility located in the northern Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Contestants bungee jumped off the dam as a Roadblock task in the first episode of the 14th season of The Amazing Race.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ "AIL - Aziende Industriali di Lugano SA - Cenni storici" (in Italian). http://www.ail.ch/index/ail-home/ail-cenni_storici.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
- ^ "Roll of honour". Water Power Magazine. 09 July 1999. http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/story.asp?storyCode=1692. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
- ^ "World's Highest Dams". Infoplease. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0113468.html. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
- ^ N.N. Ambraseys and S.K. Sarma (28 September 1968). "Large Earthquake Forces on Gravity Dam". Nature magazine. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v219/n5161/abs/2191354a0.html. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
- ^ trekking.ch. "Bungy Jumping like James Bond in Goldeneye". http://www.trekking.ch/eng/007.asp. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
- ^ "Amazing Race 14". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=296519&more=ucepisodelist&episodeid=9978144. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
[edit] External links
- Dam profile - Swiss Committee on Dams
- Contra Dam in the Structurae database
- Bungee jumping at the dam (photographs and video)
- Trekking-Team, bungy operator at the dam
 Verzasca Dam |
 Verzasca Dam |
 About to be lifted back up after bungee jumping off the dam |
 Verzasca Dam |
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