Ch

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Wu Gorge Xiling Gorge

Three Gorges Dam

Chongqing

Fengdu

Wanxian

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N

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Chang Jiang

(YangtzeR.)

628 CHAPTER 27

Human–EnvironmentInteraction

Main Ideas• The Chinese are building the

Three Gorges Dam to control

flooding.

• The Japanese have developed

creative ways to use their

limited amounts of land.

Places & TermsThree Gorges Dam

PCBs

landfill

Connect to the Issues

physical forces One

reason why the Three Gorges

Dam is being built is to control

flooding of the Chang Jiang.

A HUMAN PERSPECTIVE Hundreds of thousands of Chinese died infloods in the 20th century. Most of these deaths were caused by the flood-ing of the Chang Jiang and the Huang He rivers. These vast river flood-plains are home to, and help feed, hundreds of millions of people, andthis makes people vulnerable to the rivers’ wrath. In addition to the manydeaths, the flooding has also forced millions of people to abandon theirhomes. You will read more about one such flood in Chapter 28 (pages640–641). But since the early 1990s, the Chinese have been building anenormous new dam on the Chang Jiang that will help to control flooding.This is one example of how East Asians have shaped their environment.

The Three Gorges Dam The Three Gorges Dam is being built on the Chang Jiang in China. Thedam will, in part, help to control flooding along the great river, the thirdlongest in the world after the Nile and the Amazon. But the dam is alsoexpected to generate power and to allow ships to sail farther into China.

The picture at right, below, shows the city of Fengdu and itssuspension bridge. The picture at far right, enhanced by computerimaging, shows how the rising water created by the Three GorgesDam will cover all of Fengdu except for a few hilltops. The city’spopulation of 65,000 will be moved to a new location.

Building the Three Gorges Dam

Area of detail

Human–Environment Interaction 629

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AN ENGINEERING FEAT The Three Gorges Dam is China’s largest con-struction project and will be the world’s biggest dam. When completed,the dam will tower more than 600 feet high and will span a valley morethan one mile wide. This dam will create a reservoir nearly 400 mileslong. At least 1,000 towns and villages will disappear under the watersof the reservoir when the dam is completed.

POSITIVE EFFECTS The building of the Three Gorges Dam is a com-plicated issue because it will have both positive and negative effects.Experts disagree about whether the dam should be built. But theChinese government, which began construction of the dam in 1993,argues that the dam will have three positive effects.

First, the dam will help control the frequent flooding of the ChangJiang, which causes great damage and loss of life. This is critical becausethe Chang Jiang irrigates about half of China’s crops. Also, the riverdrains about one-fifth of China’s total land area.

Second, the dam will generate huge amounts of electrical power.Giant turbines will produce electricity that will be hooked up to electri-cal grids in central and eastern China. This will improve the reliabilityof electricity throughout China. By some estimates, the dam’s turbineswill produce about 10 percent of China’s electrical power. (See the barchart below for a comparison of the projected generating capacity ofthe Three Gorges Dam with other large dams.)

Finally, the dam will make it easier for ships to reach China’s interior.A series of locks along the river will raise ocean-going ships up from theriver to the reservoir. The Chang Jiang carries more than half of thegoods moving on China’s interior waterways. The dam and the lockswill increase shipping capacity and decrease shipping costs.

Seeing PatternsWhat are three

benefits of build-

ing the dam?

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SOURCES: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Infoplease.com

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Electric Generating Capacity of World’s Largest DamsFacts and Figures• Length of river: 3,964 miles

• Length of reservoir: 370 miles

• Height of dam: 610 feet

• Width of dam: 1.3 miles

• Number of turbines: 26,

generating 18,200 megawatts

of electricity

• Lives lost to flooding: about one

million deaths in 20th century

• Location of dam: about 1,500

miles from the ocean

• Many hundreds of miles from

headwaters in western

mountains of China

630 CHAPTER 27

NEGATIVE EFFECTS Most observers agree that theThree Gorges Dam will also have negative effects. Thecentral issue is whether the negative impact on theenvironment will be greater than the positive benefits.

First, the human costs of the dam will be enormous.Huge numbers of people will have to be moved—somewhere between one million and two million people. Also, hundreds of historical sites and scenicspots will be submerged.

Second, the dam is likely to cost more money thanoriginally anticipated. The Chinese government firstestimated the cost at approximately $11 billion dollars.However, other estimates now place the cost closer to$75 billion. A number of banks and other financial insti-tutions have chosen not to participate in the financingof the dam because of their concerns about the cost.

Third, environmental concerns about the dam trou-ble many observers. The giant reservoir created by thedam will put hundreds of square miles of land underwater. This will reduce the habitat of many animals. Itis feared that abandoned factories submerged under thereservoir may leak contaminating chemicals into thewater. The huge reservoir will affect the climate andtemperature of the region as well as the plant and ani-mal life. Such species as the alligator, leopard, sturgeon,white crane, and river dolphin may not survive.

The Three Gorges Dam is scheduled to be completed in 2009.However, the Chinese government has not been careful in protectingthe environment from the consequences of building the dam. Someinternational groups are reluctant to invest in the project because ofenvironmental concerns, and this might delay its completion.

Use of Space in Urban JapanThroughout history, the geographic challenges facing Japan have beendifferent from those facing China. One of the most important chal-lenges is that Japan is made up of a series of mountainous islands. Mostof the cities are on the coasts of these islands. But because of nearbymountains, many of the cities cannot expand to absorb any more of theJapanese population, which is about 127 million people. Tokyo is a goodexample. One of the world’s largest cities, it holds more than 25 millionpeople. There is, however, no more land for the city to grow.

CROWDED LIVING AND WORKING SPACES More than 60 percent ofthe Japanese people live on only about three percent of the land. Thepopulation is clustered along the narrow flat coastal plains.

These plains are among the most densely populated areas in theworld. The largest cities in Japan are Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya,and Sapporo. Close to 80 percent of the people in Japan live in cities.

Partly because of their large populations, some Japanese cities havebecome very polluted. For example, in the 1950s and 1960s, a number

Seeing PatternsWhat might be

some negative

effects of the

dam?

Using the AtlasUse the map

on page 615.

Why might the

Japanese people

live on such a

small percentage

of coastal land?

HUMAN–ENVIRONMENTINTERACTION The

river dolphin, the white

crane, and the alligator

are just three of the

species endangered by

the construction of the

Three Gorges Dam.

Why might the dambe a threat tovarious species?

Human–Environment Interaction 631

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTINTERACTIONCapsule hotels in

Japan provide tiny

rooms for overnight

guests.

of Japanese cities experienced poisoning from mercury and PCBs—industrial pollutants that build up in animal tissue and can cause disease and birth defects. PCBs were banned in 1977. However, cars andfactories still cause massive levelsof air and noise pollution.

ADAPTING TO LIMITED SPACEThe Japanese have shown greatingenuity in adapting to limitedspace. Because of the cost of land,houses are small by Americanstandards. The rooms are separat-ed by sliding screens and aresparsely furnished. People sleep onthin mattresses called futons thatcan be rolled up and stored duringthe day.

Many people, especially in thebiggest cities, live in apartments. It is not uncommon for a family of fourto live in a one-bedroom apartment. Some Japanese attempt to escape theovercrowding by moving away from the city to distant suburbs, but theymust commute for two or even three hours a day to and from work.

One of the solutions to the shortage of space is landfill. Landfill is amethod of solid waste disposal in which refuse is buried between layersof dirt to fill in or reclaim low-lying ground. The Japanese have usedlandfill to reclaim land for most of the major cities along the coast.Tokyo, for example, has built factories and refineries on landfill sites.One result of the use of landfill sites has been to enlarge some of Japan’sports. These reclaimed areas are designed to handle the great numberof ships that sail in and out of the port.

You will explore more about how East Asians live in the next chapter,on human geography.

Places & TermsIdentify and explain

the significance of

each in the region.

• Three Gorges Dam

• PCBs

• landfill

Taking Notes HUMAN–ENVIRONMENTINTERACTION Review the notes

you took for this section.

• Which of the examples in this

chapter illustrate human

adaptation to the environment?

• Which examples illustrate an

environment changed by humans?

Human-EnvironmentInteraction

Main Ideas a. What might be a positive

effect of the Three Gorges

Dam?

b. What might be a negative

effect of the Three Gorges

Dam?

c. Why are most of Japan’s

large cities located along

its coast?

Geographic ThinkingDetermining Cause andEffect What were some of

the reasons that led to the

building of the Three Gorges

Dam? Think about:

• the effects of living near an

unpredictable river

ASKING GEOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS Pair with a partner and research a dam in the United States

to compare with the Three Gorges Dam. Devise three geographic questions about the dams, such

as “How much concrete was used in the construction of the dams?” Then make a chart or graphin which you provide data to answer the questions. Be sure to identify your sources.

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