Patea Dam facts for kids
The Patea Dam is a really big wall built across the Patea River in New Zealand. It's a special kind of dam called an earth-fill dam, which means it's made mostly from packed-down earth, sand, and rocks. This dam was built between 1979 and 1984, and its main job is to help make electricity using the power of water.
The Patea Dam is super tall, standing at 82 metres (269 ft) high! That makes it the fourth tallest dam in all of New Zealand. It was also the first dam ever built using a specific type of sandstone and siltstone (which are kinds of rock and soil) as its main building materials. Behind the dam, a huge lake called Lake Rotorangi was formed. This lake is the longest man-made lake in New Zealand, stretching for an amazing 46 kilometres (29 mi)!
Making Electricity at Patea Dam
The Patea Hydro Electric Scheme is the name of the whole system that uses the Patea Dam to create electricity. It started making power in May 1984. Building the dam was a bit tricky, and some very wet weather caused a six-month delay, but they got it done!
Today, the Patea Hydro Electric Scheme is run by a company called TrustPower. Inside the power station, there are three large machines called Francis turbine generators. Each of these can produce 10,000 kilowatts (13,000 hp) of electricity. There's also a smaller generator that can make 700 kilowatts (940 hp). All together, this system can produce a total of 30,700 kilowatts (41,200 hp) of power. On average, it generates enough electricity to power many homes, producing about 118 gigawatt-hours (420 TJ) each year! This clean energy helps power parts of New Zealand.
