The San Roque Lake is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

(artificial lake) in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Córdoba,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. It was created by the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

ming of several rivers, especially the Suquía and the Cosquín. It is located next to the city of

Villa Carlos Paz Villa Carlos Paz () is a city in the center-north of the provinces of Argentina, province of Córdoba Province (Argentina), Córdoba, Argentina, in the south of the Punilla Valley, lying on the western slope of the Sierras Chicas. It has a populati ...

, about 600 m

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. It has a surface area of 16 km², an average depth of 16 m, and a maximum volume of 180 million m³. The dam was initially built to provide fresh water for the capital and its surroundings. It was designed in 1884 by the engineering firm of Cassaffousth, Bialet Massé and Dumesnil, finished in 1886, and inaugurated officially in 1890. Two years later the dam was suffering from a complete lack of maintenance, however, and a political scandal erupted. The original dam was finally replaced by a newer one, located 150 m away, by an initiative of Governor

Amadeo Sabattini Amadeo Tomás Sabattini (May 29, 1892 – February 29, 1960) was an Argentine politician. He served as Governor of Córdoba from May 17, 1936, to May 17, 1940. Sabattini was born in Buenos Aires to immigrant parents: His mother was Uruguayan, ...

, and completed in 1944. The newer dam was built to contain and control larger rises in water levels. When the engineers tried to demolish the original dam, the dynamite only blew the metal railing. The new dam was therefore built several meters in front of the old one. When the level of the lake is low, the upper part of the old construction can be seen.

References

''Lago San Roque''
at the website of the

National Atomic Energy Commission The National Atomic Energy Commission (, CNEA) is the Argentine government agency in charge of nuclear energy research and development. The agency was created on 31 May 1950, with the mission of developing and controlling nuclear energy for pea ...

Municipality of Bialet Massé
— ''¡El dique se viene!'' (history of the dam) {{Authority control Dams in Argentina Reservoirs in Argentina Landforms of Córdoba Province, Argentina Dams completed in 1944