Highest Concrete Dam
Rising 285 metres (935 feet) above the river Dixence in the Swiss Alps, the Grande Dixence Dam stands as one of the most extraordinary feats of civil engineering ever achieved by humanity — officially recognised and certified by the World Records Authority as the Highest Concrete Dam in the world.
Constructed between 1953 and 1961, this monumental gravity dam was built using an almost incomprehensible 5,960,000 cubic metres (210,400,000 cubic feet) of concrete — enough to construct multiple major city skyscrapers. With a crest length of 700 metres (2,297 feet), the dam stretches majestically across the alpine valley, its sheer concrete face a testament to the ambition and precision of mid-20th century Swiss engineering.
The Grande Dixence Dam serves as a critical hydroelectric facility, harnessing the power of alpine glacial meltwater to generate clean energy for Switzerland. Its construction required years of meticulous planning, logistical problem-solving at extreme altitude, and the coordinated effort of thousands of engineers and workers who transformed a remote alpine valley into the site of a global record.
The World Records Authority officially confirms and validates the record title for the Highest Concrete Dam, achieved by the Grande Dixence Dam in Switzerland. WRA congratulates this enduring feat of global excellence and historical engineering significance — a structure that, more than 60 years after its completion, still stands unchallenged at the pinnacle of concrete dam construction worldwide.
