Caroní
Caroní is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. Guri Dam (Simón Bolívar) stands on this watercourse and is written up below. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Dams Recorded
- 1
- Coordinates
- 6.66°, -62.82°
About Caroní
The Caroní River is the second most important river of Venezuela, the second in flow, and one of the longest, 952 kilometres (592 mi) from the Kukenan tepui through to its confluence with the Orinoco River. The name "Caroní" is applied starting from the confluence of the Kukenan with the Yuruaní River at 182 kilometres (113 mi) from the source of the Kukenan and 770 kilometres (480 mi) from its discharge in the Orinoco. The confluence takes place in Bolivar State. The Caroní River is the longest river located entirely within Venezuela.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Caroní River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Guri Dam (Simón Bolívar)
Guri Dam (Simón Bolívar)
Gravity / Embankment dam · Bolívar, Venezuela
Guri Dam (Simón Bolívar) is a gravity / embankment dam on the Caroní in Bolívar, Venezuela, standing 162 m (531 ft) high and completed in 1986. It carries an installed hydroelectric capacity of 10,235 MW. The structure impounds Guri Lake, about 1,248 km² on the map.
The Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant, also Guri Dam (Spanish: Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar or Represa de Guri), previously known as the Raúl Leoni Hydroelectric Plant, is a concrete gravity and embankment dam in Bolívar State, Venezuela, on the Caroni River, built from 1963 to 1969. It is 7,426 metres long and 162 m high. It impounds the large Guri Reservoir (Embalse de Guri) with a surface area of 4,250 square kilometres (1,641 sq mi).
The Guri Reservoir that supplies the dam is one of the largest on earth. The hydroelectric power station was once the largest worldwide in terms of installed capacity, replacing Grand Coulee HPP, but was surpassed by Brazil and Paraguay's Itaipu.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Guri Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Dam type
- Gravity / Embankment
- Structural height
- 162 m (531 ft)
- Installed capacity
- 10,235 MW
- Impounded river
- Caroní
- Reservoir
- Guri Lake
- Location
- Bolívar, Venezuela
- Year completed
- 1986
- Height rank
- #24 of 115 indexed
- Output rank
- #6 of 102 indexed
- Coordinates
- 7.7656°, -62.9989°
Notable: Produces over 70% of Venezuela's entire national electricity consumption.
Among the 115 dams indexed in YearMaps, Guri Dam (Simón Bolívar) ranks #24 by structural height, behind Jinping-I Dam (305 m). By installed generating capacity it ranks #6, behind Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW).
Impounded reservoir: Embalse de Guri (1,248 km²).
Nearest cities: Upata (71 km), Ciudad Bolívar (76 km), Ciudad Guayana (79 km).
More about Guri Dam (Simón Bolívar)
History and design
Technical and economic feasibility studies were begun in 1961, conducted by the Harza Engineering Company. An international consortium of six firms was awarded the contract for the construction of the plant, including four United States companies participating under the Alliance for Progress. In 1963, construction began for the hydroelectric power station Guri in the Necuima Canyon, about 100 kilometers upstream from the mouth of the Caroní River in the Orinoco. By 1969, a 106 m-high (348 ft) and 690 m-long (2,260 ft) dam with the official name of Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar (previously named Central Hidroeléctrica Raúl Leoni from 1978 to 2000) had been built.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Guri Dam (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Guri Dam (Simón Bolívar): Key Facts
| Crest length | 7,000 m |
|---|---|
| Officially opened | 1985 |
Facts from Wikidata Q143529 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Caroní: Quick Answers
- Where is Caroní?
- Caroní is located in Venezuela, at 6.6574° N, 62.8195° W.
- Are there dams on the Caroní?
- Yes. YearMaps records one dam on the Caroní: Guri Dam (Simón Bolívar).
- How tall is Guri Dam (Simón Bolívar)?
- Guri Dam (Simón Bolívar) is 162 metres (531 ft) high and was completed in 1986.