Largest dam by structure volume

What to remember

Where the Indus leaves the Himalayan foothills and enters the Pothohar Plateau, Tarbela Dam took 153 million m³ of fill. No other dam matches that structure volume. Completed in 1976, it is built of earth and rock fill and stands 143 m high above the riverbed.

It is the largest earth-filled dam in the world. It lies in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the town of Topi. Its reservoir, Tarbela Lake, covers about 250 km² and holds 13.7 billion m³. It captures monsoon flows and releases water during the low-flow winter period, for irrigation, flood control and power.

Its power station is rated at 4,888 MW, making it the most powerful generating unit in Pakistan. Structure volume figures are less readily available and less reliable than data on dam height or reservoir volume.