We left Accra and we were soon back in the jungle. It was still the dry season, the jungle was still brown in places and black in others where bush fires raged. There were smuts falling out of the sky and a haze of smoke and ash in the air that reduced the visibility of what would otherwise have been interesting vistas.
We made our way up country and were going to see the giant dam than held back the mighty Volta River. It was completed in 1965, built to provide HEP to Kaiser Aluminium of America to smelt the local bauxite ore into aluminium. It is the largest man made lake in the world by surface area at 3,125sq miles. It beats Lake Kariba, also in Africa by more than 1,000sq miles.
A distant view of the spillway from the approach road, and whilst not far, it also shows the ever present haze.
The lake side view of the spillway.
The down stream view of the spillway that lets water out of the lake when the level gets too high. The optimal operating depth of the lake is between 240ft and 288ft deep.
A side view of the penstocks (red pipes) descending towards the six 170MW rated turbines (housed under the six square roofs below the penstocks).
The intakes above the penstocks.
A view along the down river face of the dam. It is a rubble faced dam made of loose rock which has a clay and sand core.
The massive crane above the penstock intake used for maintenance.
There are more photos and a great waterfall but the internet is poor and I will be bush camping for the next few days with no internet until I cross the border into Nigeria, but I will be back!
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