Vajont Dam is a dam completed in 1961 under Mount Toc, 100 km north of Venice, Italy. It was one of the highest dams in the world measuring 262 metres (860 ft) high, 27 metres (89 ft) thick at the base and 3.4 metres (11 ft) at the top. Scrivener Dam, in Canberra, Australia, was engineered to withstand a once-in-5000-years flood event A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Italic textLink titlelink title Headline text Media:Example. ... Location within Italy Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice, 45°26′N 12°19′E, population 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). ...

The management of SADE (Società Adriatica di Elettricità), the company building the dam, told the public that the geology of the gorge had been studied, including analysis of ancient landslides, and that it was believed to be sufficiently stable. However, shifts in the rock were noticed during filling and there had been a lesser landslide of under a million cubic meters on November 4, 1960. As a result the water level behind the dam was lowered and the reservoir allowed to refill under controlled monitoring; calculations ordered by management showed that catastrophic failure was unlikely and the valley side could be stabilized over time in this manner. Thus the reservoir was filled and slowly emptied three times. However, Italy was in the process of nationalizing electric utilities (today all electricity is provided by ENEL) and SADE was very anxious to sell the dam and its generators to the newly formed state-owned electric company. Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history and the processes that shape it. ... A gorge is a narrow passage between steep mountains or hills. ... November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 57 days remaining. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nationalization or Nationalisation is the act of taking assets into state ownership. ... Enel is an Italian energy provider and the third largest energy provider in the world. ...

On October 9, 1963, the combination of the third drawing-down of the reservoir and heavy rains triggered an enormous landslide of about 260 million cubic metres of forest, earth, and rock , which fell into the reservoir at up to 110 km per hour (68 mph). The resulting displacement of water caused 50 million cubic metres of water to overtop the dam in a 250-metre high wave. Despite this, the dam's structure was largely undamaged — the top metre or so of masonry was washed away, but the basic structure remained intact. However, the megatsunami caused by the landslide totally destroyed the village of Longarone and the small villages of Pirago, Rivalta, Villanova and Faè, killing 1,450 people. Many small villages in the territory of Erto and Casso and the village of Codissago, near Castellavazzo, were largely wrecked. Almost 2,000 people (some sources report 1,909) perished in total. Damage was also caused by the air displacement caused from the immense "splash" in surrounding villages. October 9 is the 282nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (283rd in Leap years). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... It has been suggested that Mudslide be merged into this article or section. ... The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... A brick wall built using the Flemish Bond Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar. ... A megatsunami is an informal term used by popular media and popular science for very large tsunami-like waves significantly beyond the size reached by tsunamis (typically around 10 meters). ... Longarone was a village destroyed in the 1963 megatsunami near Venice, Italy; after rebuilding is now a modern village in the Dolomiti mountains near the piave river. ...

Following the disaster, there was at least one suicide among the builders and creators of the dam. The dam still stands today, though little hydroelectric power is produced. Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ...

See also

• List of reservoirs and dams

The List of reservoirs and dams is a link page for any reservoir or dam in the world. ...

External links

• (en) Vajont landslide analysis and timeline
• (it) Il disastro del Vajont
• (it) Comitato Sopravissuti del Vajont
• (it) Marco Paolini
• Vajont, La diga del disonore at The Internet Movie Database