Dam Wall Gibidum

The arch dam was finished 1967 and stores the waters of 150,3 km2 catchment area around the Great Aletsch glacier to generate electricity. For the construction of the dam with a crest length of 320 m and a height of 120 m, about 228.000 m3 of concrete were used. The artificial lake is up to 104 m deep and can store as much as 9,2 million m3 of water, despite its relatively small surface area of 21 hectares. With the 750 m difference in height, the three turbines of the power station Massa in Bitsch produce with a maximum capacity of 340 MW per year, about 600 GWh electric power. Unfortunately we have to admit that the river bed in the wild and deep gorge is often dried-out due to the generation of electricity of the Massa river. This in turn allows spectacular canyoning through the gorge.

ATTENTION : visits of the Massa gorge should be undertaken only with a local mountain guide .