Northern Quebec Hydroelectricity - Manicouagan V - Daniel Johnson Dam

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Click on Photos for larger view.

Cresting the top of a mountain, you see this giant monolith spread over the valley like a sleeping dragon. Daniel Johnson Dam on the Manicouagan River is 214 m (702 ft) tall with a central span of 162 m (531 ft) and smaller side spans of 76 m (249 ft). The drop height is 142 m (466 ft).

We toured this facility in August 2002. We were very surprised to learn that the back of the dam follows the same contours as the front; thus photos of the dam under construction show the scalloped look of the back of the dam.

We were quite surprised to see the Daniel Johnson Dam during vacation in 2005. It looked quite different then normal. We first determined that they had added some kind of sealer or protective coating to the outside of this concrete monolith; but as we got closer, we realized rain had darkened the outside of the dam and the inside stayed normal concrete-color because it did not get wet. We presume the rain trickles and wind were what made the uneven edges.

The Daniel Johnson Dam is awe inspiring during the day; but at night, it's just as