Knowra Grande Dixence Dam Grande Dixence Dam Grande Dixence Dam is a concrete gravity dam in Valais, Switzerland. It impounds Lac des Dix and feeds a major hydroelectric complex through a high-altitude network of reservoirs and tunnels.
Concrete gravity dam : A dam that resists water pressure chiefly through the weight of its concrete structure. Grande Dixence holds back Lac des Dix through its massive weight and broad base.
Hérémence : A municipality in Valais, Switzerland, in the valley occupied by Lac des Dix and Grande Dixence Dam. The dam was built above this municipality in the Dixence valley.
Hydroelectricity : Electricity produced by converting the energy of moving or falling water into electrical power. Grande Dixence stores water for electricity generation at downstream power stations.
Alpine dam : A dam built in the European Alps to store or divert water, often for hydroelectric generation. Grande Dixence exemplifies the scale and high-altitude setting of Alpine dam construction.
Barrage de Cleuson : An arch dam in Valais, Switzerland, forming the Cleuson reservoir in the Dixence hydroelectric system. Its reservoir contributes water to the interconnected system feeding Grande Dixence power stations.
Lac de Dixence : A former natural lake in Valais, Switzerland, enlarged and submerged by the reservoir created by Grande Dixence Dam. The project transformed the earlier lake into the much larger Lac des Dix.
Bieudron power station : A hydroelectric station in Valais with three Pelton turbines, supplied from the Grande Dixence reservoir system. Its turbines exploit the large elevation drop from Lac des Dix.
Hydroelectric reservoir : An artificial lake that stores water for uses such as electricity generation, irrigation, or flood control. Lac des Dix is the reservoir created by the dam.
Grande Dixence hydroelectric complex : A network of dams, reservoirs, tunnels, and power stations that produces electricity from water in the Valais Alps. The dam is the central storage structure within this wider generating network.
Dixence Dam : An earlier concrete arch dam in Valais, Switzerland, built on the Dixence River and later submerged by Lac des Dix. Grande Dixence replaced this smaller predecessor at the same site.
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