On the Zambezi river, the dam is located in the Tete Province (North West of Tete town) and is built up on a gorge called Kebrabasse (which means “where the work cannot go on”).
Although the gorge was ideal for constructing a dam wall ... when development was under way, the location was remote and hard to get to - creating transport issues - which at times, led to unreliable / lack of labour. Shortage of skilled labour, diseases such as maleria, bilharzia, yellow fever effected labourers, very eratic weather due to its subtropical climate and hostile threats added to the problems and prolonged the development of Cahora Bassa.

Overcoming political & natural issues, the Cahora Bassa dam project took a good few years to come into operation and was officially completed in 1974.

Today, the beautiful dam reservoir is a massive 270km long and averages a 40km width (2700km2).
Holding a capacity of fifty two thousand million (52 000 000 000) cubic metres of water - which is more than double the amount of water South Africa stores!!
All in all ... there are 5 generators at the dam wall, altogether producing a whoping 2.075 MW of power. The electricity is then transmitted through 7000, 40m high electrical towers, travelling 1400km, straight to Pretoria's Apollo substation.

Cahora bassa dam is an astonishing achievement done by man and has also served good for the local communities downstream as the dam wall has now prevented potential river flooding & swamping. You can also find fantastic accommodation along the edges of this beautiful dam with plenty of activities to enjoy, such as, kayaking, exploring the dam by boat, flyfishing (haven for catching Tiger Fish).