The Itaipu Dam

The Itaipu Dam is one of the largest dams in the world. It sits on the Parana River between Brazil and Paraguay in South America. The dam produces more electricity than almost any other power plant on Earth. It provides a large share of the electricity used in both countries.

A Giant Power Plant

The Itaipu Dam has 20 giant turbines that spin to create electricity. It produces enough power for about 40 million homes. Paraguay gets almost all of its electricity from this one dam. The dam is shared equally between Brazil and Paraguay, and both countries helped build it.

Building Itaipu

Construction of the Itaipu Dam took about 16 years. Workers had to move an entire river out of the way before they could start building. About 40,000 workers helped build the dam. The amount of concrete used could build 210 football stadiums. It was finished in 1984.

Fun Facts

• The Itaipu Dam uses enough iron and steel to build 380 Eiffel Towers.
• To build the dam, workers had to remove 50 million tons of earth and rock.
• The dam is about 643 feet tall, almost as tall as a 65-story building.

Did You Know?

The name 'Itaipu' comes from a Guarani word meaning 'the sounding stone.' It refers to the sound of the river water crashing against rocks that once stood where the dam is now.