Diga di Contra - Tenero-Contra, TI, Switzerland
Posted by: 
fi67
N 46° 11.798 E 008° 50.914
32T E 488315 N 5115906
The Diga di Contra, commonly known as Verzasca dam is a concrete arch dam North of Locarno.
Waymark Code: WMHTHA
Location: Ticino, Switzerland
Date Posted: 08/13/2013
Views: 6
The power plant was built between 1961 and 1965 by Verzasca SA, owned by the city of Lugano and the canton of Ticino.
The dam has a height of 220 meters and a width of 380 meters. It is 25 meters wide at the base and 7 meters at the crest. The dam structure contains 660,000 m3 of concrete. It is the fourth highest dam in Switzerland. The dam creates Lago di Vogorno, which has a capacity of 105 mio. m3 and a surface area of 1.6 km2.
The power station is located in a cavern under the control center about 200 meters north of the dam. It has three Francis turbines with a capacity of 35 MW each. The maximum drop height is 277 meters. An additional Peltron turbine located closer to Tenero adds 4.3 MW.
A part of the village Vogorno had to be rebuilt further up the hill, the old village was flooded in 1965. During the initial fill of the lake, there were some seismic activities in the area, they became weaker after the lake was emptied and refilled. There has not been any earthquake since 1971.
The dam became popular as the filming location of the bungee jump in the opening scene of the James Bond film GoldenEye that has been voted as the best movie stunt of all time in a Sky Movies poll in 2002. Shortly after the location has become a regular commercial bungee jump site offering the world's highest bungee jump that does not use auxiliary ropes.
Waterway where the dam is located: Verzasca river
Main use of the Water Dam: Hydroelectric Power Production
Material used in the structure: Concrete
Height of Dam: 220 meters
Date built: 01/01/1961
Fishing Allowed: yes
Motor Sports Allowed: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
Photo of the Dam and a description of your visit.