10 Tallest Dams in the World by Height

The world’s tallest dams are colossal feats of engineering, holding back vast reservoirs for hydropower, irrigation and flood control. China’s Jinping-I Dam currently tops the list. The ranking below lists ten of the tallest dams in the world by structural height.

Rank	Dam	Country	Height (m)
1	Jinping-I	China	305
2	Nurek	Tajikistan	300
3	Xiaowan	China	292
4	Baihetan	China	289
5	Xiluodu	China	285.5
6	Grande Dixence	Switzerland	285
7	Inguri	Georgia	271.5
8	Vajont	Italy	261.6
9	Nuozhadu	China	261.5
10	Manuel Moreno Torres	Mexico	261

Below, each of the ten tallest dams in the world is described in order of structural height. Dams can also be compared by their volume or by the volume of the reservoir they create.

1. Jinping-I Dam, China – 305 m (1,001 ft).

The tallest dam in the world, Jinping-I is a concrete arch dam on the Yalong River in Sichuan. Completed in 2014, it feeds a 3,600 MW hydroelectric power station.

2. Nurek Dam, Tajikistan – 300 m (984 ft).

An earth-fill embankment dam on the Vakhsh River that was, for decades, the tallest dam in the world until Jinping-I surpassed it. Construction began in 1961 and finished in 1980.

Pin It The Nurek Reservoir created by the Nurek Dam

3. Xiaowan Dam, China – 292 m (958 ft).

An arch dam on the Lancang (Mekong) River, built between 2002 and 2010, supplying a 4,200 MW power station. It was the world’s highest arch dam when completed.

Pin It 10 Tallest Dams In The World: Xiaowan Dam

4. Baihetan Dam, China – 289 m (948 ft).

A concrete arch dam on the Jinsha River, fully commissioned in 2022. Its 16,000 MW power station is one of the largest hydroelectric facilities on Earth, second only to the Three Gorges.

5. Xiluodu Dam, China – 285.5 m (937 ft).

An arch dam on the Jinsha River completed in 2014, driving a 13,860 MW power station.

6. Grande Dixence Dam, Switzerland – 285 m (935 ft).

A concrete gravity dam on the Dixence River, and the tallest gravity dam in the world. It fuels four power stations, enough to power around 400,000 households.

Pin It 10 Tallest Dams In The World: Grande Dixence Dam

7. Enguri (Inguri) Dam, Georgia – 271.5 m (891 ft).

A hydroelectric arch dam on the Enguri River, one of the tallest concrete arch dams in the world.

Pin It 10 Tallest Dams In The World: Inguri Dam in Georgia

8. Vajont Dam, Italy – 261.6 m (858 ft).

A now-disused arch dam completed in 1959 in the valley of the Vajont River, north of Venice, Italy. In 1963 a landslide into the reservoir sent a 200-metre wave over the dam, devastating the valley below and killing around 2,000 people, one of history’s worst engineering disasters.