The Émosson Dam (french: Barrage d'Émosson) is a hydroelectric dam development located in Switzerland in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

History

A company (Électricité d'Émosson SA) was created in 1954 to build the dam. The Franco-Swiss development, because of the source of capital, uses different pumping water sites and power generation plants. The construction was decided in April 1967. Previously, a border change was made so that the work was entirely on Swiss territory. Indeed, the border would have cut the dam into two. The communes concerned therefore conducted an exchange of territories, endorsed in 1963. Work began in 1967, and commissioning took place in 1975, eight years later. There was already a first dam on the course of the , the Barberine Dam, owned by

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...

, for which it was necessary to obtain the authorisation to immerse the earlier structure in the reservoir of the new construction.

Origin of the waters

Three collectors transport the water to the Émosson Dam. The South Collector picks up the waters of the Argentière Glacier, the and the Lognan Glacier, mainly by subglacial water intakes. A free flow gallery of length leads the water by gravity to a shielded well where the water crosses the Trient Valley and then rises, always by gravity to the dam. The West Collector picks up the waters of the French vallies of Bérard and Tré-les-eaux. These waters are channelled by free-flow in a gallery of directly to the dam. The East Collector captures waters of La Fouly and below the

Trient Glacier The Trient Glacier (french: Glacier du Trient) is a 4.3 km long glacier (2007) in the Mont Blanc Massif in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of 6.4 km². The upper part of the glacier forms a large plateau ...

and led by a gallery of more than long to the Esserts basin, hence the water is either turbined directly at the Vallorcine power station, or pumped into the Émosson reservoir.

Location

The dam is located in the

Canton of Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

, on the left bank of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

above

Martigny Martigny (; german: Martinach, ; la, Octodurum) is the capital city of the district of Martigny, canton of Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 15000 inhabitants (''Martignerains'' or "Octodurie ...

. It is fed by the waters of the

Mont Blanc massif The Mont Blanc massif (french: Massif du Mont-Blanc; it, Massiccio del Monte Bianco) is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major indepen ...

. The Émosson Dam is Switzerland's third highest dam after the Grande Dixence and

Mauvoisin __NOTOC__ Lac de Mauvoisin is a reservoir in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The reservoir is formed by the Mauvoisin Dam, which is high. The dam is the 11th highest in the world, and the 6th highest arch dam. It was built in 1951–1957, a ...

Dams.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emosson Dam Hydroelectric power stations in Switzerland Dams in Switzerland Dams completed in 1972 Arch dams Valais 20th-century architecture in Switzerland