Longyangxia Dam

Longyangxia Dam
Location of Longyangxia Dam
Country	China
Location	Gonghe County, Qinghai Province
Coordinates	36°07′20″N 100°55′06″E / 36.12222°N 100.91833°E / 36.12222; 100.91833Coordinates: 36°07′20″N 100°55′06″E / 36.12222°N 100.91833°E / 36.12222; 100.91833
Status	In use
Construction began	1976
Opening date	1992
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Arch gravity dam
Impounds	Yellow River
Length	396 metres (1,299 ft)
Height	178 metres (584 ft)
Width (crest)	18.5 metres (61 ft)
Width (base)	80 metres (262 ft)
Spillway type	Service, gate-controlled on crest
Reservoir
Creates	Longyangxia Reservoir
Total capacity	24,700,000,000 cubic metres (20,024,616 acre·ft)
Catchment area	752,443 square kilometres (290,520 sq mi)
Surface area	383 square kilometres (148 sq mi)
Power station
Turbines	4 x 320 MW
Installed capacity	1,280 MW
Annual generation	6 TWh

The Longyangxia Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam at the entrance of the Longyangxia canyon on the Yellow River in Gonghe County, Qinghai Province, China. The dam is 178 metres (584 ft) tall and was built for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation, irrigation, ice control and flood control. The dam supports a 1,280 MW power station with 4 x 320 MW generators that can operate at a maximum capacity of 1400 MW. Controlling ice, the dam controls downstream releases to reservoirs lower in the river, allowing them to generate more power instead of mitigating ice. Water in the dam's 24.7 billion m3 reservoir provides irrigation water for up to 1,000,000 hectares (2,471,054 acres) of land.^[1]

The dam is composed of its main body and a gravity pier and secondary dam on both its left and right flank. The dam's service spillway contains two 12 metres (39 ft) wide gates that discharge water into two 260 metres (853 ft) and 280 metres (919 ft) long chutes. Downstream discharges are also controlled by a similar single-chute middle outlet and the lower outlet works.^[1]

See also

• List of power stations in China

References