section_path: Types/By size/Large dams
section_name: Large dams
paragraph_text: Large dams
  
  The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) defines a "large dam" as "A dam with a height of 15 m (49 ft) or greater from lowest foundation to crest or a dam between 5 m (16 ft) metres and 15 metres impounding more than 3 million cubic metres (2,400 acre⋅ft) ". "Major dams" are over 150 m (490 ft) in height. The Report of the World Commission on Dams also includes in the "large" category, dams which are between 5 and 15 m (16 and 49 ft) high with a reservoir capacity of more than 3 million cubic metres (2,400 acre⋅ft). Hydropower dams can be classified as either "high-head" (greater than 30 m in height) or "low-head" (less than 30 m in height).
  
  As of 2021, ICOLD's World Register of Dams contains 58,700 large dam records. The tallest dam in the world is the 305 m-high (1,001 ft) Jinping-I Dam in China.