Atatürk Dam, Turkey

The Atatürk Dam (originally the Karababa Dam) is a zoned rock-fill dam with a central core on the Euphrates River on the border of Adıyaman Province and Şanlıurfa Province in the South-eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey.

Built to both generate electricity and irrigate the plains in the region, it was renamed in honour of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. Construction began in 1983 and was completed in 1990. The dam and the hydroelectric power plant, which went into service after the upfilling of the reservoir was completed in 1992, are operated by the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ).

The dam is situated 23 km (14 mi) northwest of Bozova, Şanlıurfa Province, on state road D-875 from Bozova to Adıyaman.  One of the world’s largest dams, the Atatürk Dam is the centrepiece of 22 dams on the Euphrates and the Tigris, which comprise the integrated, multi-sector, South-eastern Anatolia Project (Turkish: Güney Doğu Anadolu Projesi, known as GAP).