Jul/23

Chirkey Reservoir – the largest in the North Caucasus

No comments · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Nature, Regions, Travel

Chirkey Reservoir, the largest reservoir in the North Caucasus, is located in the central part of the Republic of Dagestan. It was formed on the Sulak River as a result of the construction of the Chirkey hydroelectric power station.

The reservoir is also used for fishing and water supply. Its height above sea level is 335 m. The water surface area is 42.4 square km, the volume – 2.78 cubic km. The greatest depth is 220 m. The width of the reservoir exceeds 5 km. Chirkey Reservoir on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

The construction of the Chirkey Dam began in 1970. The filling of the reservoir was completed in 1974. As a result, 3,040 hectares of agricultural land were flooded and 830 buildings were moved. The ancient village of Chirkey and the village of builders Druzhba were flooded. The village of Chirkey was moved higher – to the plateau.

Chirkey Reservoir is one of the tourist attractions of Dagestan. There are a lot of picturesque canyons, caves, bays along the coastline. Usually tourists come here by car or bus. In 2021, excursion groups were allowed access to the Chirkey HPP building and the turbine hall – for the first time in the history of Russian hydropower.

The Chirkey Dam was built according to the arch technology – water presses on the curved side, and the structure transfers the load to the bearing rocks of the gorge. It is the tallest arch dam in Russia (232.5 m).

On the other side of the Chirkey Dam, the Sulak Canyon begins – the deepest in Europe. In some places, the depth reaches 1920 m, which is 63 m deeper than in the Grand Canyon in the United States.