The Clyde Dam, New Zealand's third-largest hydroelectric dam, is built on the Clutha River / Mata-Au near the town of Clyde. It is owned and operated by Contact Energy.
Clyde Dam under construction circa 1986
Expansion joint
Image: Clyde Dam NZ7 3233 (46970366632)
Image: Clyde Dam NZ7 3242 (46108491915)
The Clutha River is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast 338 kilometres (210 mi) through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, 75 kilometres (47 mi) south west of Dunedin. It is the highest volume river in New Zealand, and the swiftest, with a catchment of 21,000 square kilometres (8,100 sq mi), discharging a mean flow of 614 cubic metres per second (21,700 cu ft/s). The river is known for its scenery, gold-rush history, and swift turquoise waters. A river conservation group, the Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group, is working to establish a regional river parkway, with a trail, along the entire river corridor.
Upper Clutha Valley, looking upriver toward the Southern Alps
On the Clutha River at Albert Town, near Lake Wānaka, Central Otago
The Clutha passes under the third Balclutha Road Bridge. The first bridge at this site was destroyed during the flood of 1878.
The Clyde Dam
