There is hardly anything that a man can’t make. From giant machines capable of razing mountains to dams capable of changing the path of untamed rivers, innovation and technology have made human beings capable of creating unbelievable structures. Water is one of the most essential elements on the earth along with oxygen and fire. Rivers and Streams are naturally created water bodies that fulfill the daily requirements of humankind. But, not every part of the world has rivers.
To overcome this problem and ensure the availability of water in such regions, man-made water holding bodies such as lakes and ponds are made. There are lakhs of canals in this world that are made for different purposes that include irrigation, drinking, or even tourism. It takes a huge amount of manpower, machinery, engineering expertise, and capital to construct a canal. However, the benefits that a region gets due to a nearby canal are invaluable. The world has a lot of large size canals that can beat the size of even an average river. We’ve compiled a list of the 7 largest man-made lakes in the world.
7. Williston Lake: Located in British Columbia in Canada, the 251 km long reservoir was created in 1968. The canal has a width of 155 km and it can hold 74 cubic km of water. It is the largest lake in British Columbia and is spread over an area of 1,761 km square. Water from Finlay, Omineca, Ingenika, Ospika, Parsnip, Manson, Nation, and Nabesche Rivers is responsible for the water inflow in the reservoir. The gigantic lake was created by the construction of the W A C Bennett Dam on the Peace River in 1968. It was named after Late Ray Gillis Williston, the former Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources.
6. Lake Nasser: Lake Nasser is a vast reservoir located in Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan. The 550 km long and 35 km wide canal has a water holding capacity of 132 cubic km. Spread over an area of 5,250 sq. km. The lake was built amid strong opposition by Sudan over the encroachment of its land in the north by the canal. The Nubian people living in that area had to be displaced for the reservoir to be built. The Nile river is the primary source of water in the canal. Since the construction of this canal, 800,000 acres of land have been brought under irrigation.
5. Lake Guri: Lake Guri is the fifth largest lake in the world and the largest reservoir in Venezuela. It was built in 1978 on the Caroni River. Apart from fulfilling the water requirements of the nearby area, the reservoir produces 47,000 GW of electricity every year. The 7,426 meters long and 162-meter high reservoir has a depth of 85 meters. Lake Guri is spread over an area of 4,250 sq km and can hold 135 cubic km of water. With its 24 huge turbines, the hydroelectric power station on Lake Guri was once the largest in the world.
4. Manicouagan Reservoir: The annular lake in central Quebec, Canada is spread over an area of 1,942 km sq. The lake gets its name from the Manicouagan river which is the primary source of water in the canal. Having a depth of 350 meters, the lake can hold 139.8 cubic km of water. It was created by the construction of the Daniel Johnson dam.
3. Volta Reservoir: Lake Volta is the largest artificial reservoir in the world in terms of surface area. However, in terms of the capacity to hold water, it is the third-largest lake in the world. Ghana gets a huge amount of its electricity from this reservoir. Spread over an area of 8,502 sq km, the reservoir can hold 148 cubic km of water. The maximum depth of the Volta reservoir is 73 meters. The lake has several islands within it that include Dodi, Dwarf, and Kporve.
2. Bratsk Reservoir: Russia is home to some of the largest things in the world and Bratsk is one of those things. Located in Oblast in Russia, the reservoir is located on the Angara river. Getting its name from the largest city of Bratsk, the reservoir produces 4,500 MW of electricity. It was constructed in 1967. Spread over an area of 5,470 sq km, Bratsk Reservoir can hold 169 cubic km of water. The 125 meters high and 4,417 meters long lake was the largest artificial lake in the world at the time of its inauguration.
1. Lake Kariba: Lake Kariba is the largest man-made lake by volume. Located along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, it was formed by the Zambezi river. The multi-purpose lake is used for multiple uses including electricity production. The 223 kilometers long and 40 kilometers wide lake is spread over an area of 5,400 sq km and has a holding capacity of 180 cubic km. The maximum depth of Lake Kariba is 97 meters. The enormous mass of water in the reservoir is said to have caused over 20 earthquakes in the region.
