The Diama Dam, sometimes referred to as the Maka–Diama Dam ( French: ''Barrage de Maka-Diama'') is a gravity dam on the Senegal River, spanning the border of

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

. It is located next to the town of Diama, Senegal and about north of Saint-Louis, Senegal. The purpose of the dam is to prevent saltwater intrusion upstream, supply water for the

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

of about of crops and create a road crossing for the road between St. Louis and

Nouakchott Nouakchott ( ) is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania. Once a ...

in Mauritania. Additionally, a ship lock built within the dam provides for

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

upstream. Plans for the dam were first drawn in 1970 when the riparian states within the Senegal River Basin Development Authority agreed to develop the Senegal River. The Diama Dam was to be constructed in conjunction with the Manantali Dam which was to be located further upstream in

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. Construction on the Diama Dam began on 15 September 1981 and was completed on 12 August 1986. The Manantali Dam was completed in 1988. The Diama project was funded by a US$149.5 million loan from the African Development Bank. The main section of the dam with ship lock and spillway is long while a long

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...

section extends north to the edge of the river. A dike further extends the dam to the north. The dam is tall and its spillway has a maximum discharge of . The small town of Diama is known as a border crossing to and from Mauritania, as the dam is the only land bridge between the two countries.

References

{{Authority control Dams in Senegal Dams in Mauritania Dams completed in 1986 Saint-Louis region Trarza region Dams on the Senegal River Mauritania–Senegal relations

See also

References