13 replies to this topic

[urban addict 20324]

Located near Yichang, in Hubei province, down river from the magnificent Three Gorges section on the Yangtze river, this great dam rises up and challenges the Yangtze. This is a very massive project for China to undertake and it lasts 16 years from 1993 to 2009. Sun Yat Sen, as far back as 1919, proposed a dam to be built, but the idea was dormant up to a few years before 1989, when the project was given the green light. This project costs $25 billion US dollars and involves building a dam around 2,000m long and 181m high with a ship elevator and locks. It will be used for flood control, power generation of 18.2 gigawatts, and improved navigation by allowing ships to go as far as Chongqing by the reservoir created. The Yangtze was dammed in 2003 and the first of the 26 power generators came online. A web of powerlines transfers this power to metro areas far, far away. The waters have started to rise and it will do so until 2009, when the reservoir reaches its planned level. This large man-made lake would moderate temperatures locally and cause more precipitation to fall, but it's also the source of a lot of controversy. The reservoir would permanently destroy many of the historical artifacts and landscapes as far as Chongqing upriver. A massive effort has been made to save some of these irreplaceable objects, but still it's not enough. Also, due to the reservoir, 1.13 million people have to be moved to avoid being submerged and that means demolishing a lot of the existing villages, towns, parts or the entire city, and the infrastructure. Mass demolitions are underway, tearing up everything and some people balk at having to move. The third matter is the river carries a lot of silt and there's fear of it piling up behind the dam, decreasing the resevoir's capacity to store water and requiring dredges to puck it up. Lastly, there's fear of this lake turning into a giant cesspool due to the river being moderately polluted when it reaches the dam, but there's a plan to reduce this pollution. Anyway, this is an engineering marvel for years to come. I'll snet pics later.

[Urban_Legend]

I remember seeing a show on Discovery about the Three Gorges.  It looks mighty impressive.  I'd love to see some pics, thanks!

[urban addict 20324]

Some pics: Some pics of the reservoir from space (not yet completed).
Model of the dam.
Construction pics.
Mass demolition underway.

[wolfdawg54]

I had also heard about this in abook that I have read recently. it was a very interesting non-fiction story about a tourist traveling in the area and interviewing the community about the dam. It was quite interesting.

[urban addict 20324]

If reading a book is pleasing to you, then how do you think it would be if you actually went there?

[jstsmall]

Hey do you know how large the Three Gorges is in relation to the Hoover Dam built on the Colorado?  Do you think its a similar project in its potential to increase the productivity of people in the surrounding regions?  
Thanks

urban addict 20324, on Jan 21 2005, 11:52 PM, said:

Located near Yichang, in Hubei province, down river from the magnificent Three Gorges section on the Yangtze river, this great dam rises up and challenges the Yangtze. This is a very massive project for China to undertake and it lasts 16 years from 1993 to 2009. Sun Yat Sen, as far back as 1919, proposed a dam to be built, but the idea was dormant up to a few years before 1989, when the project was given the green light. This project costs $25 billion US dollars and involves building a dam around 2,000m long and 181m high with a ship elevator and locks. It will be used for flood control, power generation of 18.2 gigawatts, and improved navigation by allowing ships to go as far as Chongqing by the reservoir created. The Yangtze was dammed in 2003 and the first of the 26 power generators came online. A web of powerlines transfers this power to metro areas far, far away. The waters have started to rise and it will do so until 2009, when the reservoir reaches its planned level. This large man-made lake would moderate temperatures locally and cause more precipitation to fall, but it's also the source of a lot of controversy. The reservoir would permanently destroy many of the historical artifacts and landscapes as far as Chongqing upriver. A massive effort has been made to save some of these irreplaceable objects, but still it's not enough. Also, due to the reservoir, 1.13 million people have to be moved to avoid being submerged and that means demolishing a lot of the existing villages, towns, parts or the entire city, and the infrastructure. Mass demolitions are underway, tearing up everything and some people balk at having to move. The third matter is the river carries a lot of silt and there's fear of it piling up behind the dam, decreasing the resevoir's capacity to store water and requiring dredges to puck it up. Lastly, there's fear of this lake turning into a giant cesspool due to the river being moderately polluted when it reaches the dam, but there's a plan to reduce this pollution. Anyway, this is an engineering marvel for years to come. I'll snet pics later.

[Neo]

This dam is now fully operational.  Pictures can be seen on the BBC's website here:

http://news.bbc.co.u..._dam/html/1.stm

[tony speller]

I also saw the Discovery Special.  At the time, they were building a "ship elevetor" on one side of the dam... pretty much a single lock that rose up 600 feet or something.  Did they end up finishing that?  If so, that has to be one impressive machine.

[PghUSA]

China very much reminds me of the United States in the 1900's, 1910's and 1920's, an emerging world super power that will soon acquire its throne.  Interesting to watch history repeat itself, in the 1920's for the first time EVER the U.S. had more people living in the cities and 'burbs then on farms and hamlets.  There is power in taking millions (or in China's case a billion) of people and industrializing them into one national focus.  Very very interesting times over there.

[gaoanyu]

some stats for your information:

LARGEST HYDRO-ELECTRIC DAMS
Three Gorges Dam, China - 18,200 megawatts
Itaipu, Brazil/Paraguay - 12,600 megawatts
Guri, Venezuela - 10,000 megawatts
Grand Coulee, US - 6,494 megawatts
Sayano-Shushensk, Russia - 6,400 megawatts
Krasnoyarsk, Russia - 6,000 megawatts
Churchill Falls, Canada - 5,428 megawatts
La Grande, Canada - 5,328 megawatts
Source: International Hydropower Association, UK

http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/5000092.stm

[dallasbrink]

its located like right on top of a fault line that was discovered during construction.  If that gets pulled apart by a earthquake, millions of people will die without warning.

[monsoon]

dallasbrink, on Aug 22 2007, 02:19 PM, said:

its located like right on top of a fault line that was discovered during construction.  If that gets pulled apart by a earthquake, millions of people will die without warning.

Los Angeles is locate on top of numerous fault lines.  It can be engineered.

[Raintree21]

True, but does L.A. have one specific structure that if it fails, mass destruction will ensue?

[monsoon]

No it doesn't and that is even more of an issue for them.   A single point can be engineered to withstand an earthquake and given the consequences I've no doubt the dam has been designed to withstand any expected earthquake and then some.   On the other hand in LA, there are millions of places where this kind of consideration did not or could not happen.   One only need note the failures that occured there during the Northridge event that happened there a few years ago.