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Aswan High Dam

Aswan High Dam

4.6
A large dam on the Nile in southern Egypt that controls flooding, stores water and makes electricity
  • proper noun
  • /æswɑn haɪ dæm/
translation icon : Gran Represa de Asuán
  • Construction of the Aswan High Dam helped to generate hydroelectric power for millions of people in Egypt.
  • Lake Nasser

Examples

  • The remaining 10 billion cubic meters were reserved for mean annual evaporation and seepage losses from Lake Nasser behind the Aswan High Dam.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Before the construction of the new Aswan High Dam in Egypt, the Jebel Aulia Dam was built on the White Nile to support the dry season flow to the Aswan Dam.

    Academic text (2008)
  • A good precedent in the Arab world was set in the 1960s during the construction of the Aswan High Dam and Lake Nasser in Egypt: before the construction, ancient Egyptian temples such as the ones on Philae Island and at Abu Simbel were moved to new sites.

    Academic text (2005)
  • The Aswan High Dam in Egypt plays a vital role in controlling floods along the Nile River.

  • Lake Nasser, formed by the Aswan High Dam, is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world.

Synonyms

dam
vsAswan High Dam
205 1.8

A barrier across a river that holds back water

refers to a particular large Nile embankment used for flood control and hydroelectric power
High Dam
vsAswan High Dam
1 4.6

A large dam on the Nile in southern Egypt that controls floods, supplies water for farming and makes electricity

is the official longer name with identical meaning
Aswan Dam
vsAswan High Dam
4.0

A large dam on the Nile in southern Egypt that controls floods, supplies water for farming, and makes electricity

focuses on storing water and generating power rather than irrigation emphasis

Surface Forms

Morphology

Aswan + high + dam

The phrase is fully compositional: Aswan (a place) + high (descriptive adjective) + dam (engineered barrier) straightforwardly denotes a large/high dam at Aswan. This follows standard noun phrase formation and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Aswan High Dam is named after the town of Aswan and what it is: a very tall dam built across the Nile, so people added High to show its great height. The tall wall 'holds back water', makes a large lake, and 'makes electricity', so the name reminds us it is the big dam that controls the river.