In 1962, engineers finished the construction of a huge wall of concrete across the Dixence River in Switzerland. This wall is 2,296 feet long, more than a half-mile.
But this dam, called the Grand Dixence, isn’t the longest dam on earth, it’s the highest. From the base of the concrete dam to its rim, it measures 935 feet. That makes the Grand Dikence dam higher than a 70-story building!
By comparison, the Hoover Dam in Arizona is 726 feet high, and the Oroville Dam, the highest in the United States, is 770 feet high. Two dams now being built in the Soviet Union will be higher than the Grand Dixence.
But these two dams are being constructed out of earth or rock. The Grand Dixence will likely remain the highest concrete darn on earth for some time to come.
