Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam (Chinese: 长江三峡大坝) is a dam in the Three Gorges region on the Yangtze River in Sandouping, in the country of China. Being one of the largest dams in the world, it also generates the biggest amount of hydroelectric power (22,250 megawatts), pushing the massive Itaipu Dam in Brazil from first place to second place.

The Three Gorges Dam project was completed on July 4, 2012.^[1] The dam was built for flood control, irrigation, and electricity. However, this has not come without problems. The dam covers a lot of historic sites and has caused 1.24 million people to lose their homes under the rising water.^[2] The dam forms the Three Gorges Reservoir, which extends nearly 410 mi (660 km) upstream to the city of Chongqing.

1. ↑ "三峡工程左右岸电站26台机组全部投入商业运行" (in Chinese). China Three Gorges Project Corporation. Archived from the original on 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
2. ↑ Deeply controversial:
   • Lin Yang (12 October 2007). "China's Three Gorges Dam Under Fire". Time. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2009-04-01. The giant Three Gorges Dam across China's Yangtze River has been mired in controversy ever since it was first proposed
   • Laris, Michael (17 August 1998). "Untamed Waterways Kill Thousands Yearly". Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-01. Officials now use the deadly history of the Yangtze, China's longest river, to justify the country's riskiest and most controversial infrastructure project – the enormous Three Gorges Dam.
   • Grant, Stan (18 June 2005). "Global Challenges: Ecological and Technological Advances Around the World". CNN. Archived from the original on 2009-09-24. Retrieved 2009-04-01. China's engineering marvel is unleashing a torrent of criticism. [...] When it comes to global challenges, few are greater or more controversial than the construction of the massive Three Gorges Dam in Central China.
   • Gerin, Roseanne (11 December 2008). "Rolling on a River". Beijing Review. Retrieved 2009-04-01. [T]he 180-billion yuan ($26.3 billion) Three Gorges Dam project has been highly contentious.