Contra Dam

The Contra Dam is an arch dam on the Verzasca River in the Val Verzasca of Ticino, Switzerland. It is sometimes referred to as the Verzasca Dam and the Locarno Dam. The dam powers the 105 MW Verzasca hydroelectric power station and forms Lago di Vogorno, which is located 1.2 miles (km) upstream of Lake Maggiore. It was built between 1961 and 1965, and from the time its reservoir was filled until 1971, a string of earthquakes linked to its water load occurred. The fourth-tallest dam in Switzerland is owned and run by Verzasca SA.

After a James Bond stuntman leaped down the dam in the opening sequence of the 1995 movie GoldenEye, the dam became a well-known bungee jumping location. Bond jumped off the dam in the opening scene of the 1995 James Bond movie GoldenEye. Wayne Michaels, a British stuntman, carried out the stunt. In a 2002 Sky Movies poll, the jump was selected as the greatest movie stunt of all time. During the Cold War, the Contra Dam served as a stand-in for the fictitious Arkhangelsk Chemical Weapons Facility, which was situated in the northern Soviet Union.

Soon after GoldenEye was released, the dam owners began leasing access to the dam to a business that offers bungee jumping. Over 10,000 people, according to the operator, have leaped 220 meters (720 feet) from the dam. In both the fifth episode of the 33rd season and the first episode of the 14th season of The Amazing Race, competitors bungee jumped off the dam as a Roadblock task. Additionally, Contra Dam served as the backdrop for the climactic scene of the Indian Bollywood film Dhoom 3.

Location: Verzasca River in the Val Verzasca of Ticino, Switzerland