La Viña Dam, Hydroelectric dam in San Alberto Department, Córdoba Province, Argentina.
La Viña Dam, officially the Antonio Medina Allende Dam, is a solid reinforced-concrete arch dam of variable radius on the Los Sauces River, 22 km from Villa Dolores in San Javier Department, Córdoba. It rises 106 m above the riverbed and runs 317.27 m along its crest, which is 4 m wide. A paved walkway with concrete parapets crosses the top; the wall combines a curved main section, a gravity section and a spillway with eight gates.
The reservoir project was presented by engineer Antonio Medina Allende, and construction of the dam, designed by engineer Fitz Simmons, began a year later. After five years and 184,160 m³ of reinforced concrete, works were completed on 15 June 1944. In 1952 the La Viña hydroelectric plant was added under Juan Domingo Perón's First Five-Year Plan, and it was connected to the grid on 28 February 1959.
The dam's location near Nono connects it to the heritage of Comechingones indigenous people who inhabited the Traslasierra Valley region.
The dam lies 22 km from Villa Dolores along the Los Sauces River, reached by road through the Traslasierra Valley. The 4 m wide crest walkway runs between concrete parapets, with the reservoir on one side and the spillway drop on the other. The 2020 Complejo Dique la Viña adds marked trails, picnic areas and birdwatching; the dam wall and the hilltop confitería serve as viewpoints.
The dam wall is 106 m high on the reservoir side and 102 m on the spillway side, making it Argentina's second-tallest dam wall. Its crest walkway is only 4 m wide, while the base measures 35 m. The wall combines a curved main section, a gravity section and a spillway section with eight gates of 6.5 by 5.5 m.
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