page_title: Earth structure
section_title: Embankment dams
hierarchical_section_title: Earth structure / Examples / Embankment dams
caption_attribution_description: Mica Dam
context_page_description: An earth structure is a building or other structure made largely from soil. Since soil is a widely available material, it has been used in construction since prehistoric times.
  It may be combined with other materials, compressed and/or baked to add strength.
  Soil is still an economical material for many applications, and may have low environmental impact both during and after construction.
  Earth structure materials may be as simple as mud, or mud mixed with straw to make cob. Sturdy dwellings may be also built from sod or turf. Soil may be stabilized by the addition of lime or cement, and may be compacted into rammed earth. Construction is faster with pre-formed adobe or mudbricks, compressed earth blocks, earthbags or fired clay bricks.
  Types of earth structure include earth shelters, where a dwelling is wholly or partly embedded in the ground or encased in soil. Native American earth lodges are examples. Wattle and daub houses use a "wattle" of poles interwoven with sticks to provide stability for mud walls. Sod houses were built on the northwest coast of Europe, and later by European settlers on the North American prairies.
context_section_description: An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent natural waterproof covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof core. This makes such a dam impervious to surface or seepage erosion.
  The force of the impoundment creates a downward thrust upon the mass of the dam, greatly increasing the weight of the dam on its foundation. This added force effectively seals and makes waterproof the underlying foundation of the dam, at the interface between the dam and its stream bed. 
  Such a dam is composed of fragmented independent material particles. 
  The friction and interaction of particles binds the particles together into a stable mass rather than by the use of a cementing substance.
  The Syncrude Mildred Lake Tailings Dyke in Alberta, Canada, is an embankment dam about 18 kilometres (11 mi) long and from 40 to 88 metres (131 to 289 ft) high. By volume of fill, as of 2001 it was believed to be the largest earth structure in the world.
caption: The Mica Dam in Canada
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