Upper Saale Valley

The first of the five artificial lakes in the Upper Saale Valley, the Bleilochtalsperre is also the largest: 28km/17mi long by up to 2km/1.25mi across, with a capacity of 215 million cubic meters (47 billion gallons). The dam, near Saalburg, is 65m/213ft high, 47m/154ft thick at the base and 7.2m/24ft thick and 205m/225yds long at the crown.

Downstream in the Upper Saale Valley is the Hohenwartetalsperre: 27km/17mi long, with a capacity of 185 million cubic meters (41 billion gallons). The dam is 54.7m/179ft thick at the base and 6.7m/22ft thick and 412m/450yds long at the crown.

The Upper Saale, between Blankenstein and Saalfeld, now forms a chain of five artificial lakes (reservoirs). On this stretch of the river there are only a few kilometers which show it as it was originally when it was used for floating rafts of logs down from the hills, and on occasion threatened life and property with its spates.