Tabqa Dam

The Tabqa Dam, also Ath Thawra Dam, Sad Al Furat, or the Euphrates Dam (Arabic سد الفرات ); is a dam on the Euphrates River in the province of al-Raqqa in Syria. The velvet incurred by them dam, the Assadsee (French Lac el- Assad, Arab بحيرة الأسد, DMG Buhayrat al - ʾ asad ), it is one of the largest in the country.

The dam is used to generate electricity in a hydroelectric power plant with a capacity of 800 to 1000 megawatts. The current is supplied to Aleppo. In addition, the dam is used for irrigation of fields along the river to the Iraqi border.

The dam was built in the years 1968 to 1974 with Soviet financial and technical assistance. He was dammed From 1973 finally by President Hafiz al -Assad, after the dam is named, inaugurated in 1993. The Assadsee is Syria's largest lake with a maximum capacity of 11 cubic kilometers. The area of the reservoir is according to various sources 610, 625, 630, 674 or even 810 or 817 km ². It is 80 km long, an average of 8 km wide and holds about 12 billion cubic meters. A large network of channels used water from the Assadsee to irrigate the lands on both sides of the Euphrates. In addition, the lake supplies the city of Aleppo with drinking water and support the fishing industry. The shores of Lake Assad have developed into important ecological zones. Due to shortage of water, the lake can not be completely filled anymore, thus the proposed electrical power is not reached and the proposed lands to be irrigated.

The dam is located at Ath Thawra, about 35 km west of the city of Ar - Raqqa and 120 km east of Aleppo. The former small town Tabqa is part of the new landscaped with wide streets Ath Thawra become, founded by refugees from the flooded areas. He is a 60 m high and - with side dams - 4.5 km long Erdschüttdamm. After the building volume, it is one of the largest of the Earth; it is about the 25th place as spillway is a 250 m long overflow structure with two openings.

The construction of the dam led Tabqa 1974/75 the brink of war with Iraq, because this felt cut off from the water supply. Turkey also holds back with the Ataturk and the Keban Dam water.

The Assad lake flooded a number of important archaeological sites, including the Bronze Age Emar.