Kurit Dam

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Kurit Dam is an old arch-gravity dam on the Kurit River at the edge of Iran’s Dasht-e Kavir, about 56 km from Tabas in South Khorasan Province. Construction began in the 14th century. The dam rises 64 metres (210 feet) above its foundation and is 29 metres (95 feet) long. It was the tallest dam in the world from its creation until the early 20th century, and its height was increased from 60 to 64 metres in 1850. The structure featured a sophisticated water outlet system for its time. It was originally built with limestone masonry and lime, with bricks and stone added during the 1850 modification. Today it no longer creates a reservoir, since another dam was completed in 2005, and a large part of its downstream face has collapsed. The upstream area behind the dam is now largely filled with silt, with excavation only directly behind the upstream face. Kurit Dam is from post-Islamic historical periods and was built from irregular and regular stone and bricks, serving local people for about seven centuries.