The Kárahnjúkar dam is a concrete-faced rock fill dam (CFRD) type with a maximum height of 193m and, when completed it will be the highest of its kind in Europe and among the highest in the world.
When full the level of the 57km2 the Hálslón storage reservoir will reach the height of 625m above sea level, and its shores will reach the edge of the Brúarjökull glacier.
From the Hálslón reservoir, the water runs through 53 km of headrace tunnels to an intake at the Valþjófsstaðafjall escarpment.
Two steel-lined vertical pressure shafts lead the water from the intake to the underground powerhouse.
The total length of the tunnels involved in the Kárahnjúkar project is about 73 km. The installed power of the Kárahnjúkar project is 690 MW, produced in six generating units (Francis turbines).
