The Akosombo Dam

Our latest road trip was to the Akosombo Dam, about a 2 1/2 hour ride from Accra.  This dam was started by the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkruma in 1961 and the Akosombo Dam was officially opened by Nkrumah on January 22, 1966.  Kwame Nrumah described it as "the greatest of all our development projects."

Before arriving at the dam we passed a beautiful arching bridge over the Volta River.  The nice road to the Akosombo Dam makes for a very pleasant drive.    

The dam is impressive (not on the same scale as Hoover or Aswan) and has created the largest man-made lake in the world, Lake Volta, collecting water from the Red Volta, the White Volta, and the Black Volta Rivers.  The hydroelectric energy harnessed at this dam powers all of Ghana and several of our neighboring countries. 

For security reasons, it is not possible to drive across the dam.  But, an outside walking tour is available giving one a bird's eye view of the six turbines.
I am personally very grateful for this dam as I have learned that with enough air conditioning, I can do Africa!