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Water Reservoir

 
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Water reservoir
 
 
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A reservoir is, most broadly, a place or hollow vessel where fluid
Fluid

A fluid is defined as a substance that continually deforms under an applied shear stress. All liquids and all gases are fluids. Fluids are a subset of the Phase and include liquids, gas, Plasma physics and, to some extent, plasticity ....
 is kept in reserve, for later use. Most often, a reservoir refers to an artificial
Artificial

Artificial is something which is not Natural . Its original sense, related to artifact and artifice, refers to a product of human endeavor; a more English but gendered synonym is man-made....
 lake
Lake

A lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all....
, used to store water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 for various uses. Reservoirs are created first by building a sturdy dam
Dam

A dam is a barrier that Reservoirs surface water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates, levees, and Dike are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions....
, usually out of cement
Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together....
, earth
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
, rock
Rock (geology)

In geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock....
, or a mixture. Once the dam is completed, a stream
Stream

A stream is a body of water less than 60 feet wide with a current , confined within a stream bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as brook, beck, Burn , creek, crick, kill, lick , rill, river syke, bayou, rivu...
 is allowed to flow behind it and eventually fill it to capacity. When such a reservoir is predominantly man-made (rather than being an adaptation of a natural structure) it may be called a cistern
Cistern

A cistern is a receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Often cisterns are built to catch and store rainwater. They range in capacity from a few litres to thousands of cubic metres ....
.






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Encyclopedia


A reservoir is, most broadly, a place or hollow vessel where fluid
Fluid

A fluid is defined as a substance that continually deforms under an applied shear stress. All liquids and all gases are fluids. Fluids are a subset of the Phase and include liquids, gas, Plasma physics and, to some extent, plasticity ....
 is kept in reserve, for later use. Most often, a reservoir refers to an artificial
Artificial

Artificial is something which is not Natural . Its original sense, related to artifact and artifice, refers to a product of human endeavor; a more English but gendered synonym is man-made....
 lake
Lake

A lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all....
, used to store water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 for various uses. Reservoirs are created first by building a sturdy dam
Dam

A dam is a barrier that Reservoirs surface water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates, levees, and Dike are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions....
, usually out of cement
Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together....
, earth
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
, rock
Rock (geology)

In geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock....
, or a mixture. Once the dam is completed, a stream
Stream

A stream is a body of water less than 60 feet wide with a current , confined within a stream bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as brook, beck, Burn , creek, crick, kill, lick , rill, river syke, bayou, rivu...
 is allowed to flow behind it and eventually fill it to capacity. When such a reservoir is predominantly man-made (rather than being an adaptation of a natural structure) it may be called a cistern
Cistern

A cistern is a receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Often cisterns are built to catch and store rainwater. They range in capacity from a few litres to thousands of cubic metres ....
. The term reservoir is also often used to describe underground reservoirs such as an oil
Oil well

An oil well is a general term for any boring through the Earth's surface designed to find and produce petroleum Petroleum hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil, and a well designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well....
 or water well
Water well

A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground ??by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access water in underground aquifers....
.

Construction


There are two basic types of reservoir: the commonly-seen dam across a valley
Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
, or the less-common fully-bunded dam.

A fully water tower
Water tower

A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated water storage container constructed for the purpose of holding a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
 bunded dam has a continuous human made embankment
Embankment

Embankment may refer to:* A levee or dike , an artificial bank raised above the immediately-surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea...
 around its entire perimeter, most commonly using a central clay core as the waterproof element. The core is held in place by earth or rock piled either side of it in suitable volumes to resist the outward forces exerted by the water. The clay is joined directly to the natural underlying material, which itself is usually clay in order for the dam to be watertight. The reservoir is filled by mechanical pumps that draw water from an adjacent water course such as a river. If a watertight roof is added then it can then be used for storing treated water before it goes to the tap. This is known as a "service" reservoir.

The more common dam across a valley relies on naturally formed features to form the water tight elements. Generally, surveyors
Surveying

Surveying or land surveying is the technique and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional space position of points and the distances and angles between them....
 have to find river valleys which are deep and narrow; the valley
Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
 sides can then act as natural walls. The best place along the valley for building a dam has to be determined according to where the dam can best be tied into the valley walls and floor to form a water tight seal. If necessary, humans have to be re-housed or historic sites must be moved. For example, the temples of Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel is an archaeological site comprising two massive rock temples in southern Egypt on the western bank of Lake Nasser about 290 km southwest of Aswan....
 were moved before the construction of the Aswan Dam
Aswan Dam

Aswan is a city on the first Cataracts of the Nile of the Nile in Egypt.Two dams straddle the river at this point: the newer Aswan High Dam , and the older Aswan Dam or Aswan Low Dam....
 (which created Lake Nasser
Lake Nasser

Lake Nasser is a vast reservoir in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Strictly, "Lake Nasser" refers only to the much larger portion of the lake that is in Egyptian territory , with the Sudanese preferring to call their smaller body of water Lake Nubia ....
 from the Nile
Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the List of rivers by length in the world.The Nile has two major tributary, the White Nile and Blue Nile, the latter being the source of most of the Nile's water and silt, but the former being the longer of the two....
 in Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
).

Yarrowreservoir
First, the river must be redirected slightly so as to not disturb construction of the dam. Once that is done, building of the dam may commence. This may take anywhere from a few months to a few years, depending on its size and complexity. After the dam is complete, the river is allowed to begin filling the large area behind the dam.

Some reservoirs are entirely underground. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 Thames Water
Thames Water

Thames Water, known originally as the Thames Water Authority and after Water privatization in England as Thames Water Utilities Limited, is the Public utility responsible for water supply and wastewater treatment in parts of Greater London, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and the Thames Valley in the United Kingdom....
 has many underground reservoirs beneath London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 built in the 1800s by the Victorians, most of which are lined with thick layers of brick. Honor Oak Reservoir
Honor Oak

Honor Oak is an inner suburban area principally of the London Borough of London Borough of Lewisham, with part in the London Borough of Southwark....
, which was completed in 1909, is the largest of this type in Europe. The roof is supported using large brick pillars and arches and the outside surface is used as a golf
Golf

Golf is a sport in which players using many types of Golf club including wood , iron , and putter , attempt to hit golf ball into each hole on a golf course in the lowest possible number of strokes....
 course.

Operation

A raw water reservoir doesn't simply hold water until it is needed. It is the first part of the water treatment
Water treatment

Water treatment describes those processes used to make water more acceptable for a desired end-use. These can include use as drinking water, industrial processes, medical and many other uses....
 process. The time the water is held for before it is released is known as the retention time. This is a design feature that allows particles and silt
Silt

Silt is soil or Rock derived granular material of a Particle size between sand and clay. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body....
s to settle out, as well as time for the biological treatment of algae and bacteria by plankton-like creatures that naturally live within the water.

Llyn Brianne Spillway
Water can be released from the reservoir, generally by gravity, to be cleaned for drinking water
Drinking water

Drinking water is water that is of sufficiently high quality so that it can be consumed or utilized without risk of immediate or long term harm....
, generate electricity
Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by hydropower, i.e., the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water....
, or simply maintain the downstream flow. In the event that a major rain
Rain

Rain is liquid precipitation . On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into droplet heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface....
 occurs, water can be released via a spillway
Spillway

A spillway is a structure used to provide for the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed....
 to avoid overtopping and compromising the integrity of the dam.

Levels

The normal maximum level of a reservoir lake is called full pool, while the minimum level it can function at is dead pool. The water below this point is also called the dead pool, while the water in between is called the conservation pool. Full pool may have different levels in summer and winter, or based on the local wet and dry seasons.

Once a reservoir reaches dead pool, it is below the level at which the dam can release it downstream. At this point, the streambed beyond the dam goes nearly or completely dry, and electricity production stops. This is also often the point at which intakes for municipal water systems begin to suck air in, and must be extended into deeper water, where stagnant
Water stagnation

Water stagnation occurs when water stops flowing. Stagnant water can be a major environmental hazard....
 water quality
Water quality

Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance can be assessed....
 is much poorer. This can be done either permanently with longer pipes, or temporarily with large hoses floated on small barge
Barge

A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Most barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats....
s, such as until a severe drought
Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation ....
 or dam repairs are over.

Hydroelectricity

A hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by hydropower, i.e., the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water....
 power station consists of large turbines
Water turbine

A water turbine is a rotary engine that takes energy from moving water.Water turbines were developed in the nineteenth century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids....
 at the base of a dam. Water from the reservoir behind the dam is channeled through pipes and delivered to the turbines, which in turn, spin a generator
Electrical generator

In electricity generation, an electrical generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy, generally using electromagnetic induction....
 to produce electricity
Electricity

Electricity is a general term that encompasses a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena such as lightning and static electricity, but in addition, less familiar concepts such as the electromagnetic field and electromagnetic induction....
. Generally, reservoirs behind hydroelectric dams are built specifically for electrical power generation and are not used for drinking water or irrigation.

Controlling watercourses

Reservoirs can be used in a number of ways to control how water flows through downstream waterways.

Irrigation
Water in an irrigation
Irrigation

Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. In crop production it is mainly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall shortfalls, but also to protect plants against frost....
 reservoir is released into networks of canal
Canal

Canals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canals: Aqueduct canals, which are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterways, which are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans....
s mainly for use in farm
Farm

A farm is an area of land, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibers and, increasingly, fuel....
lands or secondary water systems. Water in an irrigation reservoir is generally not used for drinking water, but in some cases is.

Flood control
Commonly known as an "attenuation" or "balancing" reservoir, these are used to prevent flood
Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land, a deluge. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
ing to lower lying lands, flood
Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land, a deluge. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
 control reservoirs collect water at times of unseasonally high rainfall, then release it slowly over the course of the following weeks or months. See transvasement.

Compensation
If a standard reservoir is built on a river which is used as a source of power, a compensation reservoir may also be built to guarantee a sufficient flow of water downstream during the working hours of the water-powered industries.

Canals
Where a natural watercourse's water is not available to be diverted into a canal
Canal

Canals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canals: Aqueduct canals, which are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterways, which are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans....
, a reservoir may be built to guarantee the water level in the canal; for example, where a canal climbs to cross a range of hills through lock
Lock (water transport)

A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber whose water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is the chamber itself that rises and falls....
s.

Recreation

Reservoirs often provide for recreation
Recreation

Recreation or fun is the expenditure of time in a manner designed for therapeutic refreshment of one's body or mind. While leisure is more likely a form of entertainment or rest, recreation is active for the participant but in a refreshing and diverting manner....
al uses. Most reservoirs are built for a civic purpose, but still allow fishing
Fishing

Fishing is the activity of catching fish. Fishing techniques include Fish net, Fish trap, Spearfishing, angling and Gathering seafood by hand. The term fishing may be applied to catching other aquatic animals such as different types of shellfish, squid, octopus, turtles, Edible frog and some edible marine invertebrates....
, boating
Boating

Boating, the leisurely activity of traveling by boat typically refers to the recreational use of boats whether power boats, Sailing, or yachts , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or waterskiing....
, and other activities. At most reservoirs, special rules apply for the safety of the public.

Modelling reservoir management

There is a wide variety of software for modelling reservoirs, from the specialist Dam Safety Program Management Tools (DSPMT) to the relatively simple WAFLEX
WAFLEX

WAFLEX is a spreadsheet-based model. It can be used to analyse upstream-downstream interactions, dam management options and water allocation and development options....
, to integrated models like the Water Evaluation And Planning system (WEAP)
WEAP

WEAP: the Water Evaluation And Planning system is a Windows-based decision support system for integrated water resources management and policy analysis....
 that place reservoir operations in the context of system-wide demands and supplies.

History

Dry climate and water scarcity in India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 led to early development of water management techniques, including the building of a reservoir at Girnar
Girnar

Girnar is a collection of mountains in the Junagadh District of Gujarat, India. The tallest of these rises to 945 meters , the highest peak in Gujarat....
 in 3000 BC. Artificial lakes dating to the 5th century BC have been found in ancient Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
. An artificial lake in present-day Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a States and territories of India in central India. Its capital is Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh was originally the largest state in India until November 1, 2000 when the state of Chhattisgarh was carved out....
 province of India, constructed in the 11th century, covered 650 square meters.

List of reservoirs


Largest reservoir by region
  • Northern Europe
    Northern Europe

    Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as including the following countries and dependent regions:...
    : Lokka in the municipality of Sodankylä
    Sodankylä

    Sodankyl? is a list of towns in Finland and municipalities of Finland of Finland.It is located in the provinces of Finland of Lapland, Finland....
     in Northern Finland
    Finland

    Finland , officially the Republic of Finland , is a Nordic countries situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland....
     417 km²
  • Western Europe
    Western Europe

    Western Europe refers to the countries in the western most half of Europe. This concept has had different meanings, political and cultural as well as geographical issues have influenced the area....
    : The IJsselmeer
    IJsselmeer

    IJsselmeer is a shallow lake of 1100 km? in the central Netherlands bordering the Provinces of the Netherlands of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland, with an average depth of 5 to 6 m....
      1,250 km² (in the Netherlands)


List of reservoirs by area

Volta Lake
The following are the world's ten largest reservoirs by surface area:
  1. Lake Volta
    Lake Volta

    Lake Volta is the largest reservoir by surface area in the world, lying in Ghana and covering almost 1 E9 m?. Its northernmost point is at the town of Yapei, and southernmost at the Akosombo Dam, 520 kilometers downstream....
     (8,482 km²; Ghana
    Ghana

    The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders C?te d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south....
    )
  2. Smallwood Reservoir
    Smallwood Reservoir

    The Smallwood Reservoir is a large Reservoir located in the western part of Labrador in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The reservoir is the source of the Churchill River ....
     (6,527 km²; Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
    )
  3. Kuybyshev Reservoir (6,450 km²; Russia
    Russia

    Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
    )
  4. Lake Kariba
    Lake Kariba

    Lake Kariba is a large, man-made lake and reservoir located on the Zambezi river, about halfway between the river's source and mouth, about 1300 kilometers upstream from the Indian Ocean....
     (5,580 km²; Zimbabwe
    Zimbabwe

    Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east....
    , Zambia
    Zambia

    The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
    )
  5. Bukhtarma Reservoir (5,490 km²; Kazakhstan
    Kazakhstan

    Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a large Eurasian country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the List of countries by area as well as the world's largest landlocked country, it has a territory of 2,727,300 km? ....
    )
  6. Bratsk Reservoir
    Bratsk Reservoir

    Bratsk Reservoir is a reservoir of the Angara River, located in Irkutsk Oblast and Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is named after the city of Bratsk, the largest city adjacent to the reservoir....
     (5,426 km²; Russia
    Russia

    Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
    )
  7. Lake Nasser
    Lake Nasser

    Lake Nasser is a vast reservoir in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Strictly, "Lake Nasser" refers only to the much larger portion of the lake that is in Egyptian territory , with the Sudanese preferring to call their smaller body of water Lake Nubia ....
     (5,248 km²; Egypt
    Egypt

    Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
    , Sudan
    Sudan

    Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest in the African continent and the Arab World, and List of countries and outlying territories by total area by area....
    )
  8. Rybinsk Reservoir
    Rybinsk Reservoir

    Rybinsk Reservoir , informally called the Rybinsk Sea, is a vast water reservoir on the Volga River and its tributary Sheksna River and Mologa River, formed by Rybinsk Hydroelectric Station dam, located on the territories of Tver Oblast, Vologda Oblast, and Yaroslavl Oblasts....
     (4,580 km²; Russia
    Russia

    Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
    )
  9. Caniapiscau Reservoir
    Caniapiscau Reservoir

    The Caniapiscau Reservoir is a reservoir on the upper Caniapiscau River in the C?te-Nord administrative region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada of Qu?bec....
     (4,318 km²; Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
    )
  10. Lake Guri (4,250 km²; Venezuela
    Venezuela

    Venezuela , officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a country on the northern coast of South America.The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands located off the Venezuelan coastline in the Caribbean Sea....
    )


List of reservoirs by volume

Lake Kariba
#Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria or Victoria Nyanza is one of the Great Lakes of Africa.Lake Victoria is 68,800 square kilometres in size, making it the continent's largest lake, the largest tropical lake in the world, and the second widest fresh water lake in the world in terms of surface area ....
 (204 km3; Uganda
Uganda

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania....
)
  1. Lake Kariba
    Lake Kariba

    Lake Kariba is a large, man-made lake and reservoir located on the Zambezi river, about halfway between the river's source and mouth, about 1300 kilometers upstream from the Indian Ocean....
     (180 km3; Zimbabwe
    Zimbabwe

    Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east....
    , Zambia
    Zambia

    The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
    )
  2. Bratsk Reservoir
    Bratsk Reservoir

    Bratsk Reservoir is a reservoir of the Angara River, located in Irkutsk Oblast and Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is named after the city of Bratsk, the largest city adjacent to the reservoir....
     (169 km3; Russia
    Russia

    Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
    )
  3. Lake Nasser
    Lake Nasser

    Lake Nasser is a vast reservoir in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Strictly, "Lake Nasser" refers only to the much larger portion of the lake that is in Egyptian territory , with the Sudanese preferring to call their smaller body of water Lake Nubia ....
     (157 km3; Egypt
    Egypt

    Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
    , Sudan
    Sudan

    Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest in the African continent and the Arab World, and List of countries and outlying territories by total area by area....
    )
  4. Lake Volta
    Lake Volta

    Lake Volta is the largest reservoir by surface area in the world, lying in Ghana and covering almost 1 E9 m?. Its northernmost point is at the town of Yapei, and southernmost at the Akosombo Dam, 520 kilometers downstream....
     (150 km3; Ghana
    Ghana

    The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders C?te d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south....
    )
  5. Manicouagan Reservoir
    Manicouagan Reservoir

    Manicouagan Reservoir is an Annulus lake in central Quebec, Canada. The lake covers an area of 1 E9 m?, and its eastern shore is accessible via Quebec Route 389....
     (142 km3; Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
    )
  6. Lake Guri (135 km3; Venezuela
    Venezuela

    Venezuela , officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a country on the northern coast of South America.The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands located off the Venezuelan coastline in the Caribbean Sea....
    )
  7. Williston Lake
    Williston Lake

    Williston Lake is a reservoir located in central British Columbia, Canada....
     (74 km3; Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
    )
  8. Krasnoyarsk Reservoir (73 km3; Russia
    Russia

    Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
    )
  9. Zeya Reservoir
    Zeya Reservoir

    Zeyskoye Reservoir is a large reservoir in Amur Oblast, Russia, north of the People's Republic of China border. It is situated on the Zeya River....
     (68 km 3; Russia
    Russia

    Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
    )


Other uses

A water tank
Water tank

Water tanks are liquid storage containers, these tanks are usually storing water for human consumption. The need for water tank systems is as old as civilized man....
 is also a reservoir, feeding into a local water system when demand is high, and refilling when it is low. Typically they are placed in a higher part of the area it serves, so the system is gravity-fed from it.

A reservoir may also refer to the water for a steam
Steam

In physical chemistry, and in engineering, steam refers to vaporized water. It is a pure, completely invisible gaseous phase . At standard temperature and pressure, pure steam occupies about 1,600 times the volume of an equal mass of liquid water....
 iron
Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
 or humidifier
Humidifier

A humidifier is a household appliance that increases humidity in a single room or in the entire home. There are point-of-use humidifiers, which are commonly used to humidify a single room, and whole-house or furnace humidifiers, which connect to a home's HVAC system to provide humidity to the entire house....
, or collected from a dehumidifier
Dehumidifier

A dehumidifier is a household appliance that reduces the level of humidity in the air, usually for health reasons, as humid air can cause mold and mildew to grow inside homes, which has various health risks....
 or air conditioner. The term is also used for perfume
Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
s and liquid air freshener
Air freshener

Air fresheners are consumer products that mitigate unpleasant odors in indoor spaces. They can be in the form of candles, aerosol sprays, potpourri, gels and mechanical or heat release products....
s, as well as the paint
Paint

Paint is any liquid, liquifiable, or mastic composition which after application to a Substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film....
 bottle for airbrush
Airbrush

An airbrush is a small, Pneumatics tool that sprays various media including ink and dye, but most often paint by a process of nebulization. Spray guns developed from the airbrush and are still considered a type of airbrush....
es, or for any other spray
Spray

Spray can refer to:*A dynamic collection of liquid drops and the entrained surrounding gas: see Aerosol spray, sprinkler, atomization, spray nozzle, sprayer...
 or atomizer.

The wind chests
Pipe organ

The pipe organ is a keyboard musical instrument that produces sound by venting mechanically compressed air through resonant Organ pipe. Each pipe produces sound at one fixed pitch, so they are provided in sets or "ranks" with one pipe or more per note, each rank having a common timbre and loudness throughout....
 of pipe organs and the wind bags of bagpipes are reservoirs that maintain air at pressure ready for use.

Inkjet printer
Inkjet printer

File:Canon BJ-10v Lite inkjet printer with Scale.JPGInkjet printers operate by propelling variably-sized droplets of liquid or molten material onto almost any sized page....
s have reservoirs of ink to supply their print heads.

See also

  • Ab Anbar
    Ab Anbar

    An ab anbar ?? ????? is a traditional reservoir of drinking water in Persian antiquity. The Persian language phrase literally translates as "water reserve"....
  • Drainage basin
    Drainage basin

    A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
  • Drought
    Drought

    A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation ....
  • Hydroelectricity
    Hydroelectricity

    Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by hydropower, i.e., the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water....
  • List of dam failures
    List of dam failures

    A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or slows down the flow, often creating a reservoir , lake or impoundments. Most dams have a section called a spillway or weir over which, or through which, water flows, either intermittently or continuously, and many have hydroelectricity systems installed....
  • Multipurpose reservoir
    Multipurpose reservoir

    A multipurpose reservoir is a man-made lake which is managed for multiple purposes....
  • Spillway
    Spillway

    A spillway is a structure used to provide for the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed....