Chicoasén Dam
Encyclopedia
The Chicoasén Dam is an 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...

 and hydroelectric power station on the Grijalva River
Grijalva River
Grijalva River, formerly known as Tabasco River. is a 480 km long river in southeastern Mexico. It is named after Juan de Grijalva who visited the area in 1518. The river rises in Chiapas highlands and flows from Chiapas to the state of Tabasco through the Sumidero Canyon into the Bay of...

 near Chicoasén
Chicoasén
Chicoasén is a town and one of the 119 municipalities of Chiapas, located in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 3,346. It covers an area of 82 km²....

 in Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...

, 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...

. The dam's power plant, known as "Manuel Moreno Torres" contains 5 x 300 MW, 3 x 310 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. Torres was Comisión Federal de Electricidad
Comisión Federal de Electricidad
The Comisión Federal de Electricidad is the Mexican state-owned electric widely known as CFE. It is the dominant electric company and the second most powerful state-owned company in Mexico after Pemex. The Mexican constitution states that the government is responsible for the control and...

's (the dam's owner) Director General in the later 1950s. The original generators were first operational in 1980 while the 310 MW units were ordered in 2000 and operational by 2005. Since then, the hydroelectric power station is the largest in Mexico. The dam was designed in the early 1970s and constructed between 1974 and 1980 under topographical and geological constraints. It is an earth and rock fill embankment type with a height of 261 m (856 ft)
and length of 485 m (1,591 ft). It withholds a reservoir of 1613000000 cubic metre
and lies at the head of a 52600 km² (20,309 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...

.

See also

  • Angostura Dam
    Angostura Dam
    The Angostura Dam is an embankment dam and hydroelectric power station on the Grijalva River near Venustiano Carranza in Chiapas, Mexico. The dam's power plant contains 5 x 180 MW, 3 x 310 MW Francis turbine-generators. The tall dam withholds one of the largest reservoirs in Mexico of...

     - upstream, first in Grijalva River cascade.
  • Malpaso Dam
    Malpaso Dam
    The Malpaso Dam is an embankment dam on the Grijalva River near Tecpatán in Chiapas, Mexico. The dam supports a hydroelectric power station containing 6 x 180 MW Francis turbine-generators for a total installed capacity of 1,080 MW. The dam is tall and in length...

     - downstream, third in cascade.
  • Peñitas Dam
    Peñitas Dam
    The Peñitas Dam, also known as Ángel Albino Corzo, is a dam with a hydro-electric power station on the river Rio Grijalva, 83 km south west of the city of Villahermosa, lying in the municipality of Ostuacán in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico...

    - fourth and last in cascade.
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