Marèges dam (viewpoint)

When it was built, the hydroelectric complex was intended both to electrify the railway lines and to supply industry in Paris. At the end of the First World War, hydroelectricity was the energy of the future, and high-voltage lines were built between Marèges and the capital, marking the start of the hydroelectric industry in the Dordogne valley.

Impounded in 1935, the dam was dubbed the "dam of innovation", and a number of new features were to make its mark on the construction of other large dams around the world. The arch of the Marèges dam, designed by world-renowned engineer André Coyne, is spectacular. The arch-shaped structure transfers the thrust of the reservoir water to the valley sides, enabling thinner arches to be designed and saving concrete. Marèges is the first double-arch dam in Europe!
The second spectacular innovation is the construction of a spillway in the shape of a ski jump, the first structure in the world to be equipped with this type of spillway, which lets out up to 700 m3 of water per second, enabling the overflow to be evacuated rapidly and reducing the impact of water downstream.