Environmental Issues:
Natural and Human Geography
Three
Gorges Dam Fact Sheet
Location
Sandouping Village, Kiling Gorge, Yichang County, Hubei Province
Statistics
World's largest dam
| Height |
|
185
meters |
|
| Length |
|
1,983
meters (2 km.) |
|
| Water
height |
|
175
meters above sea level |
|
| Twin
5-stage locks, each 20 meters high |
|
| Materials
necessary |
|
10.82
mil. tons cement
1.92 mil. tons rolled steel
1.6 mil. cubic meters timber |
|
| Cost |
|
1990
Chinese estimate = US$12 billion
(Current estimates approach US$75 bil) |
|
| Financing:
90% domestic sources, 10% foreign |
|
| Construction
period |
|
15
years |
|
| Reservoir
created |
|
600
km. long(360 miles) |
|
| Land
submerged |
|
632sq.km.;including
13 cities, 140 towns, 1,352 villages, 657 factories, 30,000 hectares
cultivated land |
|
| Water
storage capacity |
|
39.3
billion cubic meters |
|
| Relocated
people |
|
1.3
million |
History
Timeline
| 1919 |
|
Original
proposal for flood control dam |
|
| 1958
|
|
Chairman
Mao proposes new plan |
|
| 1983 |
|
Yangtze
Valley Planning Committee completes feasibility study |
|
| 1985 |
|
U.S.
working group formed |
|
| 1989 |
|
Canadian
International Development Assoc. concludes project is technically
feasible; dissident Dai Ching is jailed for editing Yangtze, Yangtze,
a collection of essays that opposes the dam 1990 Premiere Li Peng
revives the project
|
|
| 1991 |
|
U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation signs contract to provide technical support |
|
| 1993 |
|
Former
U.S. and Canadian support withdrawn U.S. Bureau of Reclamation would
not support such a project in the US, so will not support it in
another country |
| Pros |
|
Dam will
provide 15% of China's electricity
Severity
of flooding to be reduced 90%
Dam will
increase river navigation capacity to 10,000 ton vessels (now
only 3,000 ton vessels may enter gorges)
|
|
| Cons |
|
1008 cultural
/historical sites lost
Resettlement
of Han people could exacerbate ethnic tensions
Endangered
species: 80 species of fish, Yangtze River dolphin, Chinese sturgeon,
Yangtze alligator, giant Panda, Siberian White Crane, and the
South China Siku Deer.
|
|
