Zipingpu Dam
Location of Zipingpu Dam in China
Coordinates	31°02′07″N 103°34′26″E / 31.03528°N 103.57389°E / 31.03528; 103.57389
Construction began	March 2001
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment, concrete-face rock-fill
Impounds	Min River
Height	156 metres (512 ft)
Length	663 m (2,175 ft)
Reservoir
Creates	Zipingpu Reservoir
Total capacity	1,120,000,000 cubic metres (907,999 acre⋅ft)
Power Station
Installed capacity	760 MW

Zipingpu Dam (紫坪铺水利枢纽) is an embankment dam on the Min River near the city of Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province^[1] in southwest China. It consists of four generators with a total generating capacity of 760 MW.^[2] Construction began in 2001 and was finished late 2006. The dam site was originally developed during the Shu-Han nearly 2000 years ago.

The traditional Dujiangyan Irrigation System consisting of canals, levees, and dams, has been in use since 256 BC.^[3]

Controversy

The 7.9 magnitude quake on May 12, 2008 caused some damage to the dam, with its wall being cracked and fissured. The reservoir had to be gradually drained to permit consolidation works.^[4][5]

The reservoir is located just a few kilometers from the 2008 earthquake epicenter, and just a few hundred meters from the fault. Some geologists hypothesized that the loading and unloading of the crust below the reservoir caused by changes in the water level may have somehow acted as a trigger to the earthquake. However, this hypothesis has not been demonstrated.^[6][7][8]