This is a satellite image of the Three Gorges Dam from the European Space Agency [ESA]. The ESA produced the image using the Project for On Board Autonomy (Proba), “a micro-satellite the size of a small box,” (ESA) and a Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (CHRIS). Taken on July 30, 2003, the image depicts the flooding that has occurred, as the river “can be seen inundating the land upriver of the dam” (ESA). I included this satellite view of the dam from the ESA in my collection because it provides a physical illustration of the rising water. Furthermore, compared to the more artistic renderings of Yung Chang and Ian Teh, this image evidences the changes to the landscape and the effects of the Three Gorges Dam from a more scientific and macro-level perspective.
Source: “China’s Three Gorges Dam.” The European Space Agency, January 8, 2003, ESA – China’s Three Gorges Dam.