The 25 tallest dams in the world

1) The Mratinje Dam: 

The Mratinje Dam is a concrete arch dam in the canyon of the Piva River in Montenegro. The dam is 220 metres (720 ft) high, one of the highest in Europe. The dam is 268 metres (879 ft) long and 4.5 metres (15 ft) thick at the crest, while it is 30 metres (98 ft) long and 36 metres (118 ft) thick at the base. The foundations go as deep as 38 metres (125 ft) into the ground. 820,000 cubic metres (1,070,000 cu yd) of concrete and 5,000 tonnes of steel were built into the dam.

2) Contra Dam:

The 220-m tall dam became a popular bungee jumping venue after a James Bond stuntman jumped off it in the opening scene of the 1995 film GoldenEye.

The Contra Dam, commonly known as the Verzasca Dam and the Locarno Dam, is an arch dam on the Verzasca River in the Val Verzasca of Ticino, Switzerland. The dam is owned and operated by Verzasca SA and is the fourth tallest in Switzerland.

3) Hoover Dam:

Hoover Dam (221.46 m), once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada.

4) Luzzone:

Lago di Luzzone is a lake in Ticino, Switzerland.The arch dam Luzzone (225 m) was completed in 1963. In the years 1997–1998, its height was increased by 17 m.

One wall of the dam currently features the world's highest artificial climbing wall. A German manufacturer of climbing holds installed a line of over 650 artificial holds and bolts. The course covers a vertical distance of 165 meters, going from the base of the dam to the top.The climb must be done as a sport climb, in multiple pitches. Furthermore, the lowest holds were placed several meters above the ground to deter casual visitors from climbing on them.

5) Bhakra Dam:

Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam across the Sutlej River, and is near the border between Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The dam, located at a gorge near the (now submerged) upstream Bhakra village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, is Asia's second highest at 225.55 m (740 ft) high next to the 261m Tehri Dam.

6) Karun-4 Dam:

The Karun-4 Dam is an arch dam on the Karun River in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran. The dam is a concrete double curvature arch-type and 230 metres (750 ft) high from the foundation] The arch dam design is an ideal one for a dam built in a narrow, rocky gorge to hold back water in a reservoir. 

7) El Cajón Dam:

The El Cajón Dam (234 m) is a hydroelectric power plant located in Western Honduras. Overall, the dam is the fifth highest dam in the Americas, 16th highest in the world. El Cajón is also the highest arch dam in the western hemisphere, and the sixth highest arch dam worldwide.

8) The Chirkey Dam: 

(Chirkeisk GES) is an arch dam on the Sulak River in Dagestan, Russia.The dam is a 232.5 m (763 ft) tall and 338 m (1,109 ft) long (crest) concrete arch dam.

9) The Shuibuya Dam: 

The Shuibuya Dam is a concrete-face rock-fill embankment dam on the Qingjiang River in Badong County, Enshi, Hubei Province, China. At 233 m (764 ft) tall and containing 15,640,000 m3 (20,460,000 cu yd)

10) Oroville Dam:

Oroville Dam is a rockfill embankment dam on the Feather River east of the city of Oroville, California in the United States. At 770 feet (230 m) high, it is the tallest dam in the US and serves mainly for water supply, hydroelectricity generation and flood control.

11) Sayano–Shushenskaya Dam:

The Sayano–Shushenskaya Dam is located on the Yenisei River, near Sayanogorsk in Khakassia, Russia. It is the largest power plant in Russia and the sixth-largest hydroelectric plant in the world, by average power generation. It’s height is approximately 242 m.

12) The Ertan Dam:

The Ertan Dam is an arch dam on the Yalong River, a tributary of the Yangtze River in Sichuan Province, southwest China. It is a 240 m (787 ft) high and 774.7 m (2,542 ft) long double-curvature arch dam.

13) La Esmeralda Dam:

La Esmeralda Dam is an embankment dam on the Batá River northwest of Santa María in Boyacá Department, Neira Province, Colombia. It is a 237 m (778 ft) tall and 310 m (1,017 ft) long central core rock-fill 

14) Mica Dam:

The Mica Dam (243 m height) is a hydroelectric dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada.

15) Mauvoisin Dam:

Lac de Mauvoisin is a lake in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The reservoir is formed by the Mauvoisin Dam, which is 250 m high. The dam is currently the 8th highest in the world, and the third highest arch dam. It was built in 1951–1957, and raised by 13.5 m in 1991.

16) Laxiwa Dam: 

Laxiwa Dam is an arch dam on the Yellow River in Qinghai Province, northwest China. Its height is around 250 m.

17) The Alberto Lleras Dam: 

The Alberto Lleras Dam, also known as the Guavio Dam, is a rock-fill embankment dam on the Guavio River near Guavio, Colombia. The dam was built in 1989[3] and is currently one of the tallest dams in the world, with a height of 250 m (820 ft).

18) Tehri Dam:

The Tehri Dam is a multi-purpose rock and earth-fill embankment dam on the Bhagirathi River near Tehri in Uttarakhand, India. It is the primary dam of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd. and the Tehri hydroelectric complex. The dam is a 260 metres (850 ft) high rock and earth-fill embankment dam. Its length is 575 metres (1,886 ft), crest width 20 metres (66 ft), and base width 1,128 metres (3,701 ft).

19) Deriner Dam:  

Deriner Dam is a concrete double-curved arch dam under construction on the Çoruh River 5 km (3.1 mi) east of Artvin in Artvin Province, Turkey. Construction on the dam began in 1998, the reservoir began to fill in February 2012 and the power station is expected to be operational by the end of the year. It will have a 670 MW power house and is the tallest dam in Turkey.

20) The Vajont Dam:

The Vajont Dam is a disused dam, completed in 1959 in the valley of the Vajont river under Monte Toc, 100 km north of Venice, Italy. One of the tallest dams in the world, it is 262 m (860 ft) high, 27 m (89 ft) thick at the base and 3.4 m (11 ft) at the top.

21) Chicoasén Dam:

The Chicoasén Dam (officially known as Manuel M. Torres) is an embankment dam and hydroelectric power station on the Grijalva River near Chicoasén in Chiapas, Mexico. It is an earth and rock fill embankment type with a height of 261 m (856 ft) and length of 485 m (1,591 ft).

22) Inguri Dam:

The Inguri Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Inguri River in Georgia. Currently it is the world's highest concrete arch dam with a height of 272 metres (892 ft). It is located north of the town Jvari.

23) Grande Dixence Dam:

The Grande Dixence Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Dixence River at the head of the Val d'Hérens in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. At 285 m (935 ft) high, it is the tallest gravity dam in the world and is part of the Cleuson-Dixence Complex.

24) The Xiaowan Dam:

The Xiaowan Dam is an arch dam on the Lancang (Mekong) River in Nanjian County, Yunnan Province, southwest China. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it supports a 4,200 MW power station. Constructed between 2002 and 2010 by Huaneng Power International.

25) Nurek Dam:

The Nurek Dam is an earth fill embankment dam on the Vakhsh River in the central Asian nation of Tajikistan. At 300 m (984 ft) it is currently the tallest dam in the world.

10 most costly viruses

Much of the world's transactions, whether it is business or personal, are now done online. From social interaction to keeping track of finances, the Internet is now a very large part of the average citizen's life. The Internet is not without its own set of risks, however. Should you encounter a virus, your private information could become compromised, data destroyed and hardware completely fried. Not all viruses are created equal, however. Some viruses have produced billions of dollars in damages. Here is a look at 10 of the most expensive computer viruses of all time, and how to avoid a similar devastation in the future.

1) MyDoom: 

The most devastating computer virus to date is MyDoom, which caused over $38 billion in damages. In addition to being the most expensive virus to date, its effects were far-reaching and fast-moving. When a user was infected with the virus it creates network openings which allowed others to have access to your computer. In addition, the virus also had the ability to open random programs. In 2004, an estimated 25% of all emails had been infected by the virus.

2) SoBig: 

Another harmful and expensive computer virus is SoBig. In 2003, the SoBig virus caused over $37.1 billion in devastation. This fast-spreading virus circulated through email as viral spam, and if exposed, the virus had the capability to copy files, emailing itself to others and causing serious damage to computer software and hardware.

3) ILOVEYOU ILOVEYOU: 

Another particularly malicious virus that spread quickly through email, websites and file sharing. The ILOVEYOU virus, or the "Love Letter" worm, affected more than 500,000 systems in 2000 and produced over $15 billion in damages, including $5.5 billion in the first week alone. The virus replicated itself and exposed itself to everyone in the owner's contact list. This virus was a pioneer for other viruses, as it was one of the first to attach to an email.

4) Conficker: 

The Conficker virus caused over $9.1 billion in damages in 2007 and infected millions of computers around the world. The virus scanned computers for weaknesses and vulnerabilities, logged keystrokes and downloaded code from hacker-selected websites and more.

5) Code Red: 

One of the most well-known viruses to date is the Code Red virus. It caused over $2 billion in damages in 2001, and had the ability to break into computer networks and exploit weaknesses in Microsoft software. Once the virus infected the machine, it actively looked for other machines on the networks to attack.

6) Melissa: 

The Melissa virus was a particularly slimy virus that sent out infected Microsoft Word documents through Microsoft Outlook, delivering viral messages to everyone listed in the Outlook address book. The messages appeared to be coming from the Outlook owner, but was really the Melissa virus at work. A tell-tale indicator that Melissa had infiltrated your Outlook is if your contacts had received an email from you with the message: "Here is that document you asked for … don't show anyone else." 

7) SirCam: 

SirCam was a worm that caused over $1 billion in damages in 2001. This virus had the ability to compromise confidential information, delete items or use up space on your hard drive until there was not enough memory to store anything else.

8) SQL Slammer: 

SQL Slammer is a virus that greatly affected banks and caused Internet speed to lag significantly across the globe. SQL Slammer caused an estimated $750 million in damages in 2003, and affected 200,000 computers worldwide.

9) Nimda: 

Nimda is one of the Internet's most widespread viruses and among the costliest as well. The virus caused $635 million worth of damages in 2001 and caused Internet browsing time to slow significantly. Additionally, it could affect a user's email account and send out a read-me file to all contacts listed in the email address book. The virus caused traffic and Internet speeds to slowdown.

10) Sasser: 

Sasser created quite a bit of trouble in 2004 when it piled up $500 million in damages, devastated the British Coast Guard mapping system and caused numerous canceled flights. The creator of Sasser was identified as a teenager from Germany, and was quickly apprehended when one of his "friends" turned him in for a $250,000 bounty posted by Microsoft. The Bottom Line While the Internet can be a wonderful resource for doing everything from communicating with friends and colleagues to checking your bank statement, it is not.