Logbook · 3 places

Reservoir of El Atazar

El Atazar, Sierra Norte, Madrid

1 Villages · 1 Nature · 1 Historical milestones

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Reservoir of El Atazar

Nature · El Atazar, Sierra Norte, Madrid

The Atazar reservoir, the largest in the Community of Madrid, with a capacity of 425 cubic hectometres representing 46% of the volume held back in the region, dams the Lozoya river between slate hillsides. Its construction, begun in 1965 to relieve the water shortage Madrid had suffered since the 1950s, continued until 1972, making it the last reservoir inaugurated by Francisco Franco; the final cost was five times the estimate because of the geotechnical problems of the site's slate. The dam, a double-curvature arch dam, was among the first of its kind in Spain; its cracking made it necessary to stabilise the north slope with concrete, and it has one of the most complex monitoring systems in Spain. Its perimeter is followed by a long-distance footpath.

Photo: Carlos Delgado (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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