Mattmark dam is a reservoir in the Saas Valley of the Canton of Valais, Switzerland. The Mattmark dam was built from 1960 to 1965. The lake's surface area is 1.76 km2 (0.68 sq mi).

Mattmark dam
Mattmark dam is located in Canton of Valais
Mattmark dam
Mattmark dam
Mattmark dam is located in Switzerland
Mattmark dam
Mattmark dam
Mattmark dam is located in Alps
Mattmark dam
Mattmark dam
LocationSaas Valley, Valais
Coordinates46°2′17″N 7°57′36″E / 46.03806°N 7.96000°E / 46.03806; 7.96000
Typereservoir
Catchment area37.10 km2 (14.32 sq mi)
Basin countriesSwitzerland
Max. length3.2 km (2.0 mi)
Surface area1.76 km2 (0.68 sq mi)
Max. depth93 m (305 ft)
Water volume100 million cubic metres (81,000 acre⋅ft)
Surface elevation2,197 m (7,208 ft)
Map

The lake lies at a height of 2,197 metres above sea level, between the massifs of the Rimpfischhorn and Stellihorn. The highest peak visible from the lake is the Strahlhorn (4,190 m).

Mattmark disaster

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On August 30, 1965, 88 construction workers, 56 of them of Italian nationality, were buried under 2,000,000 m³ of ice and debris by a glacier collapse of the Allalin glacier.[1] The risk involved in constructing the accommodation barracks directly below the glacier tongue, which eventually broke off, was not taken into account. No other reservoir in Switzerland claimed so many victims during construction. Seven years after the accident, the Valais judiciary acquitted all 17 defendants, including engineers and managers of Elektrowatt and officials of the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund. In 2005, journalist Kurt Marti revealed that those responsible for the construction site knew about the dangers of the Allalin glacier and that the court ignored all incriminating facts in its decision.[2]

 
Mattmark dam

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Fenazzi, Sonia (28 August 2015). "The Mattmark disaster: a dramatic page in Swiss history". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  2. ^ "Mattmark, die unbewältigte Tragödie". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 2015-08-28. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
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