The José María Oriol-Alcántara II Reservoir, better known as the Alcántara Reservoir, is an artificial reservoir created by the Iberdrola dam of the same name, located in the province of Cáceres, in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, Spain, and is situated in the course of the Tagus River.
The dam, completed in 1969 but inaugurated later, is named after José María de Oriol y Urquijo, who was then president of the company that built this structure, Hidroeléctrica Española, now Iberdrola, the owner of the installation. Additionally, its name is completed with Alcántara II\’ as the dam is located in the town of Alcántara in Cáceres. It is commonly referred to as the Alcántara Dam or Alcántara Reservoir, although there is another supply dam in the same municipality named Alcántara I Dam.
The dam regulates a significant portion of the flow of the Tagus River, the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. Downstream from the José María de Oriol Dam and before entering Portugal, there is the Cedillo Reservoir and dam. At the time of its construction, it was the second-largest reservoir in Europe. Later, it was surpassed by the La Serena Reservoir, which is also located in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura.
