Manic-5 generating station, Hydroelectric power station in Côte-Nord region, Canada
The Manic-5 generating station is a hydroelectric facility with fourteen concrete buttresses and thirteen arches rising 214 meters high and spanning 1.3 kilometers across the Manicouagan River. It includes the original power plant and an additional expansion from 1989, together equipped with multiple Francis turbines.
Construction of the massive hydroelectric complex began in 1959 and was completed in 1970, marking a period of intense industrial development in Quebec's energy sector. The facility was built during an era of ambitious technological advancement intended to drive Quebec's economic growth.
The structure was named the Daniel-Johnson dam to honor Quebec's Premier, who died on the morning of the planned inauguration in 1968.
Visitors can view the facility from designated viewing areas that take in the entire structure. The best vantage points are located near the dam where you can fully appreciate the scale of the construction.
The dam created the Manicouagan Reservoir, which appears as a circular body of water from above and contains René-Levasseur Island, one of the largest lake islands in the world. This circular shape was not a natural accident but formed by the original meteorite impact structure that the river shaped over time.
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