The Three Gorges Dam (simplified Chinese: 长江三峡大坝; traditional Chinese: 長江三峽大壩; pinyin: Chángjiāng Sānxiá Dà Bà) is a Chinese hydroelectric river dam which spans the Yangtze River in Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei, China. As of 2007, it is the largest hydroelectric river dam in the world.

The dam wall is made of concrete and is about metres ( ft) long, and metres ( ft) high. The wall is metres ( ft) wide on the bottom and metres ( ft) wide on top. The project used 28,000,000 m³ (36,600,000 cu yd) of concrete, 463,000 tons^[vague] of steel, and moved about 134,000,000 m³ (175,000,000 cu yd) of earth. The reservoir is over kilometres ( mi) long and can hold 39.3 cu km (9.43 cu mi) of water. The project will flood 632 square kilometers (395 square miles) of land to create a reservoir about 644 kilometers (400 miles) long by 112 kilometers (70 miles) wide. The total electric generating capacity will reach 22,500 MW and claims the title to being the largest hydro-electric power station in the world by capacity when it is completed. Several generators still have to be installed, and the dam is not expected to become fully operational until about 2011.
As with many dams, there is a debate over the costs and benefits of the Three Gorges Dam. Although there are economic benefits such as flood control and hydroelectric power, there are also concerns about the future of over 4 million people who will be displaced by the rising waters, in addition to concerns over the loss of many valuable archaeological and cultural sites, as well as the effects on the environment.