definition
strict definition
embankment dam
A water barrier composed of loose material held together by an outer shell.
An embankment dam is a barrier in a moving channel of water constructed by piling loose material inside a shell or membrane. The fill can be made of rocks, soil, clay, concrete, or asphalt concrete.
The piled fill forms the body of the barrier, contained by the shell or membrane described above. The loose starting material becomes part of a stable constructed mass.
The material arrangement differs from the curved form of an arch dam. Rock, soil, and the other stated fills are alternatives within the embankment form.
Related definitions
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arch dam
A dam curved toward the upstream side so that arch action helps resist the pressure of the water behind it. -
arch-gravity dam
A composite dam with the bowed shape of an arch dam and the heavy infill of a gravity dam. -
barrage
A dam consisting of a series of movable gates used to regulate water flow in a channel. -
gravity dam
A dam that relies primarily on its own substantial mass to resist pressure from the water behind it. -
weir
A barrier with water flowing over it, used to control the flow rather than block it.