El Cajón Dam (Argentina)

This article is about the dam in Argentina. For other dams named El Cajón, see El Cajón Dam (disambiguation).

El Cajón Dam (Spanish: Dique El Cajón) is a dam in Capilla del Monte, Córdoba, Argentina. It was built on the course of the Dolores River, at about 910 m (2,986 ft) above mean sea level. The wall of the dam is 39 m (128 ft) tall and it creates a reservoir with a surface area of 1.45–1.8 km² (0.6–0.7 sq mi) and a volume of 8,000,000 m³ (280,000,000 cu ft).^[1]

A view of the reservoir.

El Cajón Dam
Official name	Dique El Cajón
Location	Córdoba, Argentina
Coordinates	30°51′12″S 64°33′01″W
Construction began	1987
Opening date	1993
Construction cost	US$800 million
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Dolores River
Height	39 m (128 ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity	8,000,000 m3 (280,000,000 cu ft)
Surface area	1.45–1.8 km2 (0.6–0.7 sq mi)

The construction of El Cajón Dam started in the 1970s but the dam was finally finished and inaugurated in 1993. It is made of concrete and lies on granite terrain. The dam is used as a reservoir of fresh water, to regulate the flow of the river, for fishing (carp and silverside), sailing, canoeing, and windsurfing. The dam cost a total of approximately USD 800 million to construct.