Deriner DamArtvin Province, Turkey
 Northeast Turkey is one of Europe's most remote, unforgiving landscapes. Twenty hours by car from Istanbul, the Black Sea region is home to sheer-faced gorges, untouched wilderness and one of the wildest rivers on Earth. Here, in Turkey's most challenging terrain, crews are now carving out the country's largest construction site by building one of the tallest and strongest dams ever made. Just last year, Turkey plugged into the European power grid. With the continent starved for energy, the country is attempting to export energy to its neighbors by tapping one of its most abundant and volatile resources: the Coruh River. After 12 years of preparation — including two just for building the roads to reach the site — the Deriner Dam is finally taking form with an innovative 817-foot-tall, double-curved arch design. Just one year from completion, the Deriner Dam is now in its final, most dramatic stage of construction. Nearly 1,000 feet above the river valley, Danny Forster works with teams to pour the dam's tallest concrete block sections and install 6,300 tons of permanent steelwork to set it. Inside the dam itself, he endeavors to line the steep overflow tunnels, while in the powerhouse below, viewers get a rare look at the tunnel's four massive turbines, witnessing what it takes to tame one of the world's fastest rivers. |
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