[See more pictures of the locks]
Going from a height of 70 meters above sea-level to 155
meters, let alone 170 meters in short order is not a simple task for a
boat. They’re presently working on an
elevator that can in about a half hour raise a 30k ton boat. However, that won’t be completed for a few years
and our boat is too large regardless. The more conventional system method is a lock, in fact a series of five
interconnected locks although only four are needed at present water level.
The doors to these locks are like something out of
fantasy, protecting a stronghold of giants or perhaps containing a full-sized
dragon. The locks can handle a full
ocean-going 100k ton ship and can handle two ships of our type abreast. The first lock was full of ships when we
approached, so there was a half-hour plus wait until we headed in. After that, the whole process of getting up
the four gets took a few hours.
The pictures at the end, showing both the fourth and
fifth lock open at the same time, will in a few years no longer be
possible. The dam inspires a sort of
twisted parlor game, ‘guess what will be underwater next?’ It’s quite easy to play as there are fairly
regular markings. That said, most all of
the flooded or likely to be flooded buildings have been demolished to allow
reuse was their building materials. As a
result, you’d only occasional see doomed structures.
Recent Comments