Danube River: Iron Gate Power Station

It's striking that on the lower Danube how few locks there are for passing ships to pull through. It's probably because a pair of them are so big.

In other words say hello to the Iron Gate Hydroelectric Power Station. The dam's planning was begun in 1960 and construction started in 1964 as a joint project between Romania and Yugoslavia. When it was done in 1972, Dam No. 1 became the 10th largest hydroelectric power station in the world. 

While the power was appreciated, there's always a downside to such dams. In this case, the water level of the river above the dam rose ... which was not good news for the residents of the island called Ada Kaleh. That piece of land had a fairly long history, but everyone had to pack up and go somewhere. A few buildings were moved as well. In total, 23,000 people moved to higher ground. 

Meanwhile, it wasn't a great development for migratory fish. It interrupts the spawning routes for the creatures. In all, the landscape changed all the way up to Belgrade, 70 miles away

Dam Number 2 was completed in 1984, with similar advantages and results. Both no longer border Yugoslavia; now they bump up against Serbia, which is planning to build a third dam in the region. 

Now, you don't need a video of someone going through the dam.