Tucuruí Dam - Brazil

The Tucuruí Dam (Tucuruí means “grasshopper’s water“, translated from Tupí language; Portuguese: Tucuruí) is a concretegravity dam on the Tocantins River located on the Tucuruí County in the State of Pará, Brazil. The main purpose of the dam is hydroelectricpower production and navigation. It is the first large-scale hydroelectric project in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. The Tucuruí Dam brought power to 13 million people and 60% of the power is transferred to industries which create just under 2,000 jobs. Between 25,000 and 35,000 people were removed from the future reservoir zone in the early 1980s. 14,000 people were relocated by the government. 3,750 of these people moved to new islands created by the reservoir which lack adequate infrastructure. Video shot by José Verley.