The Zakarias dam

The damming of Zakariasvatnet with a 96 metre high concrete dam in 1968 was one of the largest encroachments into the natural environment in our district. Amongst other results of the development was that three farms were submerged by the flooding. In its time the dam was the highest in Northern Europe. When the magazine is at low level you can still see the walls of the farms that were lost to the waters. There is surfaced road up to the dam, which is an impressive sight. You can walk out along the dam and when the magazine is full, which is a seldom occurrence, and water is released over the fall, you can feel the forces of nature. The wall of the dam holds back up to 70 million cubic metres of water, which is used to drive the hydroelectric power generating plant. Zakariasvatnet was named after Zakarias Knudson Uri, who drowned in the waters in the autumn of 1793, when his horse spooked and ran into Rødalselva. Both were carried by the current into Zakariasvatnet. Before this incident the waters were called Nedstedalsvatnet.