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Vajont Landslide and Dam

Valcellina - Municipality of Erto e Casso (PN)

Between the 50s and the 60s, the stream Vajont was blocked by a dam at a few hundred meters from the confluence with the river Piave. The hydroelectric plant was never officially used because a huge landslide partially filled the basin giving birth to a terrible wave: the towns along the lake, Longarone and other villages were destroyed and more than 2.000 people died. The Landslide of the Vajont is only the most recent and dramatic event in the recent life of a mountain, during which the rocks formed, were lifted, and were subject to erosion. The construction of a dam in a valley that was geologically unstable is one of the main causes of the huge landslide (270 million cube meters) that in the evening of 9th October 1963 took off Monte Toc and rapidly fell in the already partially filled lake. The 265-meter high arch dam was the highest in the world and was able to stand the unprecedented destructive power of the landslide and of the subsequent wave.
The Vajont valley, with the villages of Erto and Casso situated on very steep slopes, still bears the marks of the disaster. Indeed, the event began before that dramatic night, when the building of the dam led to the loss of the few and poor resources of the people living at the bottom of the valley.
In the Visitor Center of Erto you can visit the Exhibit "La Catastrofe del Vajont", uno spazio della memoria", a real documentation center describing the phenomenon in all its stages. Near the Dam there is an Information Office with seasonal opening.

Province: Pordenone Region: Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Vajont Landslide and Dam
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