Malpaso Dam, Hydroelectric power station in Tecpatán, Mexico.
The Malpaso Dam is a hydroelectric structure stretching 480 meters across and rising 137.5 meters above the Grijalva River in Chiapas. The dam created a large reservoir that spreads between forested hills and stores water to generate electricity through turbines.
Construction started in 1959 and was mostly complete by 1964, after which the valley filled with water. The resulting reservoir became one of Mexico's largest water storage areas.
The reservoir holds remains of a chapel built by Dominican monks in the 1500s, which becomes visible when water levels drop. These submerged structures tell the story of settlement that existed before the dam was built.
The dam sits in a wide river valley and can be viewed from roads running along the shoreline. Keep in mind that water levels change with the seasons, which significantly affects how the reservoir looks.
Beneath the reservoir lies an ancient site called San Isidro that contains one of the few known double ball courts from Mesoamerica. This rare pre-conquest sporting ground now rests underwater and survives mainly in archaeological records.
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