Tarbela Dam facts for kids
The Tarbela Dam (which means 'Tarbela Dam' in Urdu) is a very big dam built on the Indus River in Pakistan. It got its name from a village called Tarbela, which used to be in the area where the dam was built.
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Where is Tarbela Dam?
The Tarbela Dam is located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest of Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. It is mostly in the Haripur District, which is part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Building the Dam: A Look Back
The idea to build the Tarbela Dam was approved in the 1960s. Construction began soon after and the dam was finished in 1974. Building such a large dam meant that many villages were covered by water. Thousands of people had to move from their homes to new places.
How Big is Tarbela Dam?
The Tarbela Dam stands about 148 meters (486 feet) tall above the river bed. The lake it creates, called a reservoir, covers a huge area of about 250 square kilometers (97 square miles). This makes it the largest earth-filled dam in the world!
The dam was built for several important reasons:
- To store water from the Indus River for irrigation, which means watering farms and crops.
- To help control floods, protecting nearby areas from too much water.
- To create hydro-electric power, which is electricity made from the force of moving water.
Tarbela Lake: A Home for Wildlife
The large lake formed by the dam is called Tarbela Lake. It is very long and spreads out over a big area. The lake has many channels and is surrounded by wild, tall hills and forests. Today, Tarbela Lake is a home for many different kinds of waterfowl (birds that live near water) and fish.
See also
In Spanish: Presa de Tarbela para niños
Images for kids
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Generators inside the Tarbela Dam
