Ord River Dam

dam, Western Australia, Australia

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July 1, 2026

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The Ord River Dam is a significant structure in Western Australia, part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme. Completed in 1972, it created Lake Argyle, one of Australia's largest reservoirs, with a capacity of over 5.7 billion cubic meters. The dam's primary purpose is to control seasonal flooding and provide water for irrigating drought-prone areas in the Kimberley region.12

Initially, the scheme focused on cotton cultivation, but economic challenges and pests led to difficulties. Despite early controversies and agricultural setbacks, renewed interest in the Ord River Project has emerged with the successful cultivation of sugarcane and other produce for export. The dam also generates hydroelectric power.21

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Western Australia
Western Australia since c. 1950
…into funding a large, controversial dam on the Ord River in the far north, without finding any form of tropical agriculture that would flourish there. The Perth metropolitan area sprawled, and, with the decay of many rural centres, Western Australia became overcentralized, with the majority of the population in the…
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…into funding a large, controversial dam on the Ord River in the far north, without finding any form of tropical agriculture that would flourish there. The Perth metropolitan area sprawled, and, with the decay of many rural centres, Western Australia became overcentralized, with the majority of the population in the…
Read More

Lake Argyle
Formed by the Ord River Dam (1972), it has a storage capacity of 204,719,140,000 cubic feet (5,797,000,000 cubic m). The dam, fed by the 300-mile (480-kilometre) Ord River, measures 325 feet (99 m) high and 1,119 feet (341 m) long. Lake Argyle is the main reservoir in the…
Read More
Formed by the Ord River Dam (1972), it has a storage capacity of 204,719,140,000 cubic feet (5,797,000,000 cubic m). The dam, fed by the 300-mile (480-kilometre) Ord River, measures 325 feet (99 m) high and 1,119 feet (341 m) long. Lake Argyle is the main reservoir in the…
Read More