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Engineering geologists
investigate the geology of the dam site and the area to be
occupied by the reservoir.
They provide an overall picture of the types of soils and
rocks below the earth's surface, their thickness and the directions
in which they slope. They assess the quality of the ground
to determine whether leakage of water from the reservoir could
occur.
For embankment
dams, geologists investigate nearby areas where natural
materials can be excavated for their construction.
  Engineering
geologists also consider whether the site of the proposed
dam is in a region where earthquakes can occur. They look
for the presence of any faults
in the rocks and consider whether an earthquake could cause
the fault to rupture. During the 1999 Chi-Chi Earthquake in
Taiwan, the movement of a fault below the Shihkhang Dam actually
broke the dam in two.
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