Sorpe Dam
| Sorpe Dam | |
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Aerial photograph of Sorpesee; the Sorpe dam is in the very background
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 Location of Sorpe Dam in Germany
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| Official name | Sorpetalsperre |
| Country | Germany |
| Location | Sundern, Hochsauerland |
| Coordinates | 51°21′01″N 07°58′03″E / 51.35028°N 7.96750°ECoordinates: 51°21′01″N 07°58′03″E / 51.35028°N 7.96750°E |
| Construction began | 1926 |
| Opening date | 1935 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Sorpe (Röhr) |
| Height | 69 m (226 ft) |
| Length | 700 m (2,297 ft) |
| Dam volume | 3,380,000 m3 (119,000,000 cu ft) |
| Reservoir | |
| Total capacity | 70 MCM |
| Surface area | 3.3 km2 (1.3 sq mi) |
| Power station | |
| Type | Conventional |
| Installed capacity | 7.44 MW |
The Sorpe Dam (German: Sorpetalsperre) is a dam on the Sorpe river, near the small town of Sundern in the district of Hochsauerland in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Together with the Biggesee, the Möhne Reservoir, and the Verse reservoir, the Sorpe Reservoir is one of the major artificial lakes of the Sauerland's Ruhrverband reservoir association. Besides serving as a water supply, it is utilized for electricity generation and as a leisure and recreation area.
The Sorpe Dam is situated to the north of the Homert natural park, south-west of the city of Arnsberg in an area belonging to the borough of Sundern (Sauerland) between the villages of Langscheid (at the dam) and Amecke. It is supplied by the Sorpe stream.
About once a year in spring, the reservoir runs over into the spillway, generating massive whitewater down the cascades to the stilling basin that draws crowds of spectators for a few days.
The major prerequisite for the construction of the Sorpe Dam was the completion of the Röhrtal railway on June 1, 1900, a standard gauge Kleinbahn connecting Sundern to the Obere Ruhrtalbahn at Neheim-Hüsten. During construction, its steam locomotives pulled heavy construction trains over a specially laid construction spur and the newly erected railway viaduct at Stemel to what became Europe's largest construction site between 1926 and 1935. In total, the steam trains carried more than 300,000 metric tonnes of construction material to the Sorpe dam, where smaller light railways took over.
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