Usoi Dam

The Usoi Dam is a natural dam along the Murghab River in the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan. The dam was created on February 18, 1911, when a great earthquake estimated between 8 and 9 on the Richter Scale caused a massive landslide to block the flow of the river. The Usoi is formed of approximately two cubic kilometers of rock dislodged from the steeply sloped river valley of the Murghab, which cuts through the high and rough Pamir Mountains. The basin formed by Usoi now holds Sarez Lake, a 60-kilometer long lake holding 17 cubic kilometers of water.

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Geologists are concerned that the Usoi Dam may become unstable during future large-magnitude earthquakes, which are relatively common in the seismically active Pamirs, and might collapse due to liquefaction or subsequent landslides during such an event. Collapse of the dam would unleash a locally catastrophic flood, as the Murghab's river valley tends to be relatively narrow and steep, which would focus and maintain a flood's destructive power.

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Dam: :This article discusses structures for water impoundment. For other meanings, see dam (disambiguation)....

Murghab River: Murgh?b (, meaning Birds River), or Morgh?b, also transliterated from Tajiki ?????? and Russian ?????? as Murghob and Murgab, is the name of two distinct rivers in Central Asia:...

Central Asia: Central Asia (Russian: ??????? ????/"Srednyaya Azia" for "Middle Asia" or ??????????? ????/"Tsentrallnaya Azia" for "Central Asia"; Mandarin Chinese: ??/ pinyin: "Zh?ngy?"; Arabic: pending/"Asya al Wsta") is a vast landlocked region of Asia. Though various definitions of its exact composition exist,...

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