ITAIPU DAM IN PUERTO IGUAZU, Itaipu Dam Puerto Iguazu

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Itaipu Dam

Near the natural wonder of the Iguazu Falls is the manmade wonder of the Itaipu Dam. It is the world's largest hydroelectric dam and is considered a miraculous modern engineering feat.

The name of the dam was borrowed from a nearby island where the dam was constructed. It literally translates to singing stones in Guaraní, a poetic way perhaps to describe the sounds of the rushing water through the concrete and steel structure.

The process began with several diplomatic talks between the countries of Brazil and Paraguay. The river divides the two countries, both of which were suffering from droughts at the time of the initial talks. The original goal was to better utilize water for irrigation of crops. Argentina later participated in some of the governmental planning and agreements. While the dam is not located on Argentinean territory the regulation of the waters does directly have an effect on the country. If the waters were to be completely opened it could potentially flood Argentina until the capital of Buenos Aires.

The dam was constructed over a long period of time starting in 1975. The river of course was rerouted first in order to create a dry place for the dam to be built. The generators were built generally at a rate of two or three a year. The first one was open in 1983.

Today the dam provides the electric energy for over 75% of Paraguay's needs and meets about 25% of Brazil's electricity demands, an amazing feat for both countries. Nine of the generators work at producing energy at 50Hz for Paraguay and another 9 produce electricity at 60Hz for Brazil

. The remaining two generators are not used, and can undergo any repairs that maybe necessary. The agreement between the three countries states that the maximum output at any one time may be 18 generators, thus the 20 generators allow the dam to operate at maximum capacity at all times with 2 generators in reserve.

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