Taedong River

Taedong in Pyongyang

Course of the Taedong - gang

The Taedong River is a river in North Korea.

It rises in the Nangnim Mountains in the province Hamgyŏng - namdo flows in a southwesterly direction, with the creek Pothong output through the capital Pyongyang and flows Namp'o into the Yellow Sea. It is 439 km long and navigable for 4,000 -ton ships to Songnim, 2000 -ton ships to 65 kilometers below the source. Further upstream, it is mainly used for irrigation and power generation. Important tributaries are Biryu input, output and Nam Chaeryŏng output. In the upper reaches, the two reservoirs Nangnim and Kumsong.

Hydropower plant Nyongwon

At the headwaters of the river hydropower plant Nyongwon was opened on 5 October 2005. The big dam through a mountain valley to protect the capital, Pyongyang against flooding and contribute to the energy supply of the country.

West Sea Dam

The Koreans call the Yellow Sea West Sea. In the mouth of the Taedong in this sea at Namp'o built in the years 1981 to 1986 three army divisions at that time the largest dam in the world. The so-called West Sea Barrage is an eight -kilometer-long dam, three locks for ships up to 50,000 GRT, 36 sluices and an observation deck with a museum building in anchor shape.

The dam serves primarily as a watershed between the sea and river water, as fast road and rail link between the north and south banks of the Taedong River as well as a physical barrier at the river mouth. He preserves the region as far north as Pyongyang against possible floods, makes the vessel traffic independent of the strong tides and serves the availability of fresh water for industrial and drinking water supply in the region. It favors two billion cubic meters of water per year. For the production of electricity, the dam is not used.

Before the construction of the dam upstream was obtained in salt pans of sea salt. These pans are largely untapped since the separation of sea and river.