for National Geographic News Using enough explosives to level
400 ten-story buildings, China demolished the last barrier
holding back the mighty Yangtze River from the Three Gorges Dam
on Tuesday, according to government- controlled media. At 1.4
miles (2.3 kilometers) long, Three Gorges is one of the world's
largest dams, and one of the most controversial public works in
modern times. 200 Tons of Explosives Demolition experts used
some 200 tons (181 metric tons) of explosives to destroy the
final Three Gorges cofferdama temporary construction that had
allowed builders to finish the dam's massive main wall. The
blast created some 243,278 cubic yards (186,000 cubic meters) of
concrete rubble. The main dam's construction was completed last
month amid much fanfare. "This is the grandest project the
Chinese people have undertaken in thousands of years," Li
Yongan, general manager of the Three Gorges Corporation, told
the London Times on May 20. At its peak the construction team
numbered some 26,000 Chinese and fo