Three Gorges Dam

About Three Gorges Dam:

• It is located on the Yangtze River in China’s Hubei Province.
• It is the world’s largest hydroelectric power station.
• The dam was completed in 2012 after nearly two decades of construction.
• Its staggering dimensions—2,335 metres (7,660 feet) long and 185 metres (607 feet) high—make it the largest dam ever built.
• The dam’s reservoir has a capacity of 40 cubic kilometres (about 10 trillion gallons) of water, which can produce up to22,500 megawatts of electricity.
• The dam uses the flow of water from the three closest gorges, known as Qutangxia, Wuxia, and Xilingxia, for spinning the turbine and generating electricity
• Beyond its hydroelectric capabilities, the dam is intended to increase the Yangtze River’s shipping capacity and reduce the potential for floods downstream by providing flood storage space. 

Key Facts about Yangtze River:

• It is the longest river in both China and Asia and third longest river in the world, with a length of 3,915 miles (6,300 km).
• It is also considered the longest river to exclusively flow within the borders of a single nation.
• Its basin drains an area of 698,265 square miles (1,808,500 sq.km). 
• From its source on the Plateau of Tibet to its mouth on the East China Sea, the river traverses or serves as the border between 10 provinces or regions. 
• More than three-fourths of the river’s course runs through mountains. 
• The Yangtze has eight principal tributaries. On its left bank, from source to mouth, these are the Yalung, Min, Jialing, and Han rivers; those on the right bank include the Wu, Yuan, Xiang, and Gan rivers.

Q1: What is a Gorge?

A gorge is a narrow valley with steep, rocky walls located between hills or mountains. The term comes from the French word gorge, which means throat or neck. A gorge is often smaller than a canyon, although both words are used to describe deep, narrow valleys with a stream or river running along their bottom.

Source: China’s gigantic hydroelectric dam has been changing spin of Earth. Here’s how