Keban Dam
Encyclopedia
The Keban Dam is a hydroelectric
dam
on the Euphrates
, located in the Elazığ Province
of Turkey
. The dam was the first and most upstream of several large-scale dams to be built on the Euphrates by Turkey. Although the Keban Dam was not originally constructed as a part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project
(GAP), it is now a fully integrated component of the project, which aims to stimulate economic development in Southeastern Turkey. Construction of the dam commenced in 1966 and was completed in 1974. Keban Dam Lake , the reservoir created by Keban Dam, has a surface area of 675 square kilometres (260.6 sq mi) and is reputedly the fourth-largest lake in Turkey after Lake Van
, Lake Tuz
, and the reservoir created by the Atatürk Dam
.
and Iraq
. However, as a result of the fact that Syria was at that time filling the reservoir of its newly constructed Tabqa Dam as well, in 1975 a dispute broke out between Syria and Iraq over the amount of water that flowed into Iraq. This dispute, exacerbated by drought which reduced the amount of available water even further, was solved by mediation of Saudi Arabia
. After the initial filling of the lake, geological weaknesses in the bedrock on which the dam was built necessitated a temporary lowering of the lake level in order to carry out extensive reinforcement works. Reportedly, Keban Dam was the world's eighteenth-tallest dam at completion, creating Turkey's largest man-made reservoir and third-largest lake until the filling of the reservoir of the Atatürk Dam.
river valleys were the scene of intense archaeological survey and excavation in advance of flooding. The lake formed by the dam is mostly narrow, hemmed in by deep rock valleys. No archaeological sites were found in the survey of these valleys. The Murat valley opens up in two places, and it is here that archaeological (and modern) settlement was concentrated. The Aşvan region, covering about 115 square kilometres (44.4 sq mi), contained eleven archaeological sites, all relatively small. The largest, Aşvan Kale, covered about 0.9 hectares (2.2 acre) in total; this site, as well as three others were excavated by the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara
: Taşkun Mevkii, Çayboyu and Taşkun Kale. The other broadening of the valley, at the Altınova
plain, was a well-defined area of thick and fertile alluvial soil. Archaeological survey located 36 sites, of which one, Norşuntepe, covered 8.2 hectares (20.3 acre), being by far the largest site in the region. It was excavated by a German team led by Harald Hauptmann
. The Altınova plain contained other relatively large mounds, including Tepecik (3.4 ha (8.4 acre)), Korucutepe (2 ha (4.9 acre)), Değirmentepe (2 ha (4.9 acre)) and Körtepe (1.7 ha (4.2 acre)). The late Roman Karamagara Bridge
, a notable example of an early pointed arch bridge, has been permanently submerged by the dam.
and concrete gravity hydroelectric dam operated by the State Hydraulic Works
(DSİ). The dam is 1097 metres (3,599.1 ft) long and its crest is 207 metres (679.1 ft) above the level of the river-bed (848 metres (2,782.2 ft) above sea-level). Its eight water turbine
s are capable of producing 1,330 MW
. The storage capacity of Lake Keban is 30.6 cubic kilometres (7.3 cu mi) and the surface area of the lake is 675 square kilometres (260.6 sq mi), although the lake has reportedly reached higher levels in the past. Due to Lake Keban's relatively high elevation at 845 metres (2,772.3 ft) above sea-level and its location in an area with high precipitation, evaporation
is relatively low at 0.48 cubic kilometre (0.115158124130058 cu mi) per year compared to reservoirs in Syria or Iraq. Apart from the Euphrates Valley directly upstream of the dam, the lake has also flooded parts of valleys of the Murat River
and the Karasu
, the two rivers from which the Euphrates emerges. Although the dam was not originally intended for irrigation, 63872 hectares (157,831 acre) of agricultural land was irrigated from Lake Keban in 1999.
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
on the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
, located in the Elazığ Province
Elazig Province
Elâzığ Province is a province of Turkey with its seat in the city of Elâzığ. The source of the Euphrates river is located in this province.The province has a population of 552,646 as of 2010...
of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The dam was the first and most upstream of several large-scale dams to be built on the Euphrates by Turkey. Although the Keban Dam was not originally constructed as a part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project
Southeastern Anatolia Project
The Southeastern Anatolia Project is a multi-sector integrated regional development project based on the concept of sustainable development for the 9 million people living in the Southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey...
(GAP), it is now a fully integrated component of the project, which aims to stimulate economic development in Southeastern Turkey. Construction of the dam commenced in 1966 and was completed in 1974. Keban Dam Lake , the reservoir created by Keban Dam, has a surface area of 675 square kilometres (260.6 sq mi) and is reputedly the fourth-largest lake in Turkey after Lake Van
Lake Van
Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country in Van district. It is a saline and soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world's largest endorheic lakes . The original outlet from...
, Lake Tuz
Lake Tuz
Lake Tuz is the second largest lake in Turkey with its surface area and one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world. It is located in the Central Anatolia Region, northeast of Konya, south-southeast of Ankara and northwest of Aksaray.-Geography:...
, and the reservoir created by the Atatürk Dam
Atatürk Dam
The Atatürk Dam , originally the Karababa Dam, is a zoned rock-fill dam with a central core on the Euphrates River on the border of Adıyaman Province and Şanlıurfa Province in Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey...
.
Project history
Construction of the Keban Dam was first proposed in 1936 by the newly established Electric Affairs Survey Administration, but not started before 1966. Construction was carried out by the French-Italian consortium SCI-Impreglio and completed in 1974. Estimates of the total construction cost vary between US$85 million and US$300 million. At that time, archaeological rescue missions had also been carried out at important sites that were to be flooded. Flooding of the reservoir started in 1974 and led to the displacement of 25,000 people. During the flooding of the Keban Reservoir, Turkey maintained the discharge of the Euphrates at 450 cubic metres (15,891.6 cu ft) per second, as agreed with the downstream countries of SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. However, as a result of the fact that Syria was at that time filling the reservoir of its newly constructed Tabqa Dam as well, in 1975 a dispute broke out between Syria and Iraq over the amount of water that flowed into Iraq. This dispute, exacerbated by drought which reduced the amount of available water even further, was solved by mediation of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. After the initial filling of the lake, geological weaknesses in the bedrock on which the dam was built necessitated a temporary lowering of the lake level in order to carry out extensive reinforcement works. Reportedly, Keban Dam was the world's eighteenth-tallest dam at completion, creating Turkey's largest man-made reservoir and third-largest lake until the filling of the reservoir of the Atatürk Dam.
Archaeological rescue work
From 1968 to 1974, the Euphrates and MuratMurat River
The Murat River or Eastern Euphrates is the major source of the Euphrates. It was also called Arsanias in antiquity. The river originates near Mount Ararat north of Lake Van, in eastern Turkey, and flows westward for through mountainous area...
river valleys were the scene of intense archaeological survey and excavation in advance of flooding. The lake formed by the dam is mostly narrow, hemmed in by deep rock valleys. No archaeological sites were found in the survey of these valleys. The Murat valley opens up in two places, and it is here that archaeological (and modern) settlement was concentrated. The Aşvan region, covering about 115 square kilometres (44.4 sq mi), contained eleven archaeological sites, all relatively small. The largest, Aşvan Kale, covered about 0.9 hectares (2.2 acre) in total; this site, as well as three others were excavated by the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
: Taşkun Mevkii, Çayboyu and Taşkun Kale. The other broadening of the valley, at the Altınova
Altinova
Altınova is a town and district of Yalova Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The mayor is Metin Oral .-External links:*...
plain, was a well-defined area of thick and fertile alluvial soil. Archaeological survey located 36 sites, of which one, Norşuntepe, covered 8.2 hectares (20.3 acre), being by far the largest site in the region. It was excavated by a German team led by Harald Hauptmann
Harald Hauptmann
Harald Hauptmann is a German archaeologist known for his excavation work in east and southeast Turkey. He has also done study of pre-Islamic Pakistan. He's a Professor Emeritus at the University of Heidelberg and is a foreign-member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.- References :...
. The Altınova plain contained other relatively large mounds, including Tepecik (3.4 ha (8.4 acre)), Korucutepe (2 ha (4.9 acre)), Değirmentepe (2 ha (4.9 acre)) and Körtepe (1.7 ha (4.2 acre)). The late Roman Karamagara Bridge
Karamagara Bridge
The Karamagara Bridge is a late Roman bridge in the ancient region of Cappadocia in eastern Turkey, and possibly the earliest known pointed arch bridge.- Location and situation:...
, a notable example of an early pointed arch bridge, has been permanently submerged by the dam.
Characteristics of the dam and the reservoir
The Keban Dam is a combined rockfillEmbankment dam
An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...
and concrete gravity hydroelectric dam operated by the State Hydraulic Works
State Hydraulic Works (Turkey)
The State Hydraulic Works is a state agency organized under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Turkey responsible for the utilization of country's all water resources...
(DSİ). The dam is 1097 metres (3,599.1 ft) long and its crest is 207 metres (679.1 ft) above the level of the river-bed (848 metres (2,782.2 ft) above sea-level). Its eight water turbine
Water turbine
A water turbine is a rotary engine that takes energy from moving water.Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now they are mostly used for electric power generation. They harness a clean and renewable energy...
s are capable of producing 1,330 MW
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
. The storage capacity of Lake Keban is 30.6 cubic kilometres (7.3 cu mi) and the surface area of the lake is 675 square kilometres (260.6 sq mi), although the lake has reportedly reached higher levels in the past. Due to Lake Keban's relatively high elevation at 845 metres (2,772.3 ft) above sea-level and its location in an area with high precipitation, evaporation
Evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs only on the surface of a liquid. The other type of vaporization is boiling, which, instead, occurs on the entire mass of the liquid....
is relatively low at 0.48 cubic kilometre (0.115158124130058 cu mi) per year compared to reservoirs in Syria or Iraq. Apart from the Euphrates Valley directly upstream of the dam, the lake has also flooded parts of valleys of the Murat River
Murat River
The Murat River or Eastern Euphrates is the major source of the Euphrates. It was also called Arsanias in antiquity. The river originates near Mount Ararat north of Lake Van, in eastern Turkey, and flows westward for through mountainous area...
and the Karasu
Karasu (Euphrates)
The Karasu or Western Euphrates is a long river in eastern Turkey, one of the two sources of the Euphrates. It has a length of about 450 km. To the ancient Greeks the river was known as the Τηλεβόας ....
, the two rivers from which the Euphrates emerges. Although the dam was not originally intended for irrigation, 63872 hectares (157,831 acre) of agricultural land was irrigated from Lake Keban in 1999.