Our Photo of the Day series this week shares photos of impressive modern megastructures in China.
Changes in the body of water before and after the operation
Costing a whopping 31 billion USD, the Three Gorges Dam has been operational since 2003, after taking 9 years to construct. Located in Hubei province, the dam produces 97 TWh annually. For comparison, New York City uses roughly 4 TWh annually on average; the Three Gorges Dam produces 8 times more power than that produced by the Hoover Dam.
Not only does the dam produce an incredible amount of electricity, it also helps increase shipping capacity and reduce flooding significantly. However, the huge project has not been without controversy. In addition to flooding huge swathes of the surrounding scenic area and displacing an estimated 1.3 million people, the dam’s construction is also blamed for increased landslides and the extinction of the baiji, also known as the Chinese river dolphin.
Photo: Apollo Mapping
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