La Yesca Dam is an under construction embankment dam

Embankment 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...

 on the Santiago River

Río Grande de Santiago

The Río Grande de Santiago is one of the longest rivers in Mexico, measuring up long. The river begins at Lake Chapala and continues roughly north-west through the Sierra Madre Occidental, receiving the Verde, Juchipila, Bolaños, and other tributaries...

 90 km (56 mi) northwest of Guadalajara

Guadalajara

Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...

 on the border of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

's Nayarit

Nayarit

Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...

 and Jalisco

Jalisco

Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...

 states. Construction on the dam began in 2007 after Empresas ICA

Empresas ICA

ICA is the second biggest Mexican construction company with operations in the Americas and Europe. ICA is engaged in the development and construction of infrastructure projects such as road construction, hydroelectric plants, ports and airports, metro systems, refineries, industrial facilities,...

 was awarded the main construction contract. Completion is expected towards the end of 2012. The dam will support a 750 MW hydroelectric power station and is part of the Hydroelectric System Santiago. It's construction will improve the regulation of water flow and subsequently power generation downstream at the El Cajón

El Cajón Dam (Mexico)

The El Cajón Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Río Grande de Santiago in the Mexican state of Nayarit. Construction began in 2003 and was completed in June 2007. It cost US$800 million to build. It is long and is high. The reservoir holds approximately of water, and the generators are capable of...

 and Aguamilpa Dam

Aguamilpa Dam

The Aguamilpa Dam is an embankment dam on the Río Grande de Santiago in the Mexican state of Nayarit, northeast of Tepic. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it supplies a 960 MW power station with water...

s.

Design

The La Yesca Dam will be a 220 m (722 ft) tall and 628 m (2,060 ft) long concrete-face rock-fill embankment type with 11900000 m³ (15,564,612 cu yd) of fill. The dam's crest elevation will be 579 m (1,900 ft) above sea level and it will sit at the head of a 51590 km² (19,919 sq mi) catchment area

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

. On the dam's left bank will be its spillway

Spillway

A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...

 controlled by six radial gates. The maximum discharge of the spillway will be 15915 m3/s. The dam's reservoir will have a capacity of 2500000000 cubic metre of which 1392000000 cubic metre can be used for generating electricity. The reservoir will have a surface area of 33.4 km² (13 sq mi) and a normal elevation of 575 m (1,886 ft). The power station will contain two 375 MW Francis turbine

Francis turbine

The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine that was developed by James B. Francis in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts....

-generators producing an estimated annual generation of 1,210 GWh.