Three Gorges is a concrete gravity dam on the Yangtze River in Hubei, central China. It stands by its own weight, not by arches or braces.
It is the world's largest hydroelectric plant by installed capacity. River water spins turbines and makes electricity.
The wall runs 7,770 feet (2,335 meters).
That is about as long as 26 American football fields set end to end.
It reached full generating capacity in 2012: 22,500 megawatts. That is how much power it can generate at one instant, a world record for installed capacity.
Each main turbine is rated at 700 megawatts. Smaller units run beside them.
The twist is the river.
For about six months a year, the Yangtze carries too little water for full generation. Output can drop significantly.
So over a full year, the biggest plant makes about as much electricity as a smaller hydro plant on a river that flows strongly every month.
In 2020, after heavy monsoon rains, output hit 111.88 terawatt-hours and broke the world record for annual generation.
Along with the power, the dam opens a shipping path far inland on the Yangtze.
The capacity is the record.
The river decides whether it shows up.
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