Gezhouba Dam

The Gezhouba Dam or Gezhouba Water Control Project (Chinese: 长江葛洲坝水利枢纽工程) on the Yangtze River is located in the western suburbs of Yichang, in central China's Hubei province. One of the largest run-of-the-river dams,[1] 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 11, 1988. The dam has a total installed electrical capacity of 2,715 MW.[2]

Gezhouba Dam
The Gezhouba Dam site
Location of Gezhouba Dam in China
Location	Yichang, China
Coordinates	30°44′23″N 111°16′20″E
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Concrete gravity, run-of-the-river
Impounds	Yangtze River
Height	47 m (154 ft)
Length	2,595 m (8,514 ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity	1.58 km3 (1,280,000 acre⋅ft)
Power Station
Operator(s)	China Yangtze Power
Type	Run-of-the-river
Installed capacity	2,715 MW
Annual generation	14,100 GWh

After rushing out of Nanjin Pass (南津关, "South Ford Pass"), the Yangtze River slows down and widens from 300 metres (980 ft) to about 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) at the dam 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 2.71 GW along with three ship locks, two power stations that generate 14,100 GWh of electricity annually. It has 27 gates of spillway, and a non-flowing Dam on both banks. The dam is 2,595 metres (8,514 ft) long with a maximum height of 47 metres (154 ft). The reservoir has a total volume of 1.58 cubic kilometres (1,280,000 acre⋅ft).

The navigation lock No.2 on the third channel was, when built, among the 100 largest in the world. The lock chamber is 280 metres (920 ft) long and 34 metres (112 ft) wide, with a minimum draft of 5 metres (16 ft) 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.[3][4]