The Gezhouba Dam or Gezhouba Water Control Project () on the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

River is located in the western suburbs of

Yichang Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...

, in central China's

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

province. One of the largest

run-of-the-river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amou ...

dams, it sits several kilometers upstream from downtown Yichang, just downstream of the fall of the Huangbo River into the Yangtze. Construction started on December 30, 1970 and ended on December 10, 1988. The dam has a total installed electrical capacity of . After rushing out of Nanjin Pass (南津关, "South Ford Pass"), the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

slows down and widens from to about at the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

site. Two small islands, Gezhouba and Xiba, divided the river into three channels. There the Gezhouba Project was built. The facility boasts a generating capacity of along with three ship locks, two power stations that generate of electricity annually. It has 27 gates of spillway, and a non-flowing Dam on both banks. The dam is long with a maximum height of . The reservoir has a total volume of . The navigation lock on the third channel was, when built, among the 100 largest in the world. The lock chamber is long and wide, with a minimum draft of at the sill. It provides passage for 10,000 ton ships. The construction of the Gezhouba Dam, and others on the Yangtze, is considered by scientists to be one of the main causes of the decline and extinction of the

Chinese paddlefish The Chinese paddlefish (''Psephurus gladius''; : literal translation: "white sturgeon"), also known as the Chinese swordfish, is an extinct species of fish that was formerly native to the Yangtze and Yellow River basins in China. With records of ...

References

External links

Pictures of Gezhouba Dam & Gezhouba Shiplock

{{Energy in the People's Republic of China Hydroelectric power stations in Hubei Yichang Dams completed in 1988 Dams on the Yangtze River Locks of China 1988 establishments in China Energy infrastructure completed in 1988 Gravity dams

See also

References

External links