One of the stops along our route was the Rapel dam located in the O'Higgins region of Chile. Its construction created the largest reservoir in Chile containing 0.7 billion cubic meters of water while the power station can generate 377 MW. The dam is 112 m high and 350 m long, 5.5 m wide at top and 19 m wide at its base. The spillway is controlled by five tainter gates (named after a Wisconsin designer) and can discharge 10,000 cubic meters per second. It would make for quite a show when the gates are open. For comparison purposes, the Muskrat Falls Generation Facility currently under construction in Newfoundland will generate 824 MW. The nearby Churchill Falls Generating station can produce 5,428 MW making it the second largest in Canada. Anyway, I digress. We found it to be an interesting stop - an impressive man made structure surrounded by such natural beauty.
