A Lake of IslandsThese islands are misleading in appearance. 100 years ago, neither they nor the lak

A Lake of IslandsThese islands are misleading in appearance. 100 years ago, neither they nor the lake in which they sit in existed. Qiandao Lake (or Thousand Island Lake) was formed from a planned flooding by the Chinese government around 1959. The lake is named for obvious reasons, containing more than 1,000 islands within it and covering a landmass of over 570 km2 (>350 mi2). Known for its incredibly clean water and thick-forested islands, Qiandao Lake looks like paradise; a safe haven where nothing but cool river water can reach. Although this incredibly unique lake may be paradise and a tourism hot-spot, the surrounding area looked significantly different in recent history.Prior to 1959, Qiandao Lake was nonexistent. Instead, the valley where it now lies played home to the ancient cities of Shi Cheng and He Cheng more than 1,300 years ago. Both cities had major influences in in politics and economics and to this day, most of the cities’ artifacts and infrastructures remain preserved and intact beneath the lake’s surface. In 1959, in order to keep up with the area’s growing population, the Chinese government chose to submerse the valley in local river water in the overall effort to create a hydroelectric power plant. Hydroelectric systems are some of the oldest forms of energy production, with their earliest and simplest models (commonly known as water mills) dating back to the 3rd century B.C. by the ancient Greeks.The basic concept behind hydroelectric power is to harness usable energy from the movement of water. Although this method has proven to be much more energy efficient than other methods such as the burning of fossil fuels, there can be significant damages to the environment in order for a plant to be constructed. The secret is to create hydroelectric plants in ways that not only save money in energy production, but also in ways that protect the environment since that is one of the major influences in constructing them in the first place. Qiandao Lake is far from perfect in terms of environmental sustainability, however it could be a step in the right direction and at least a primitive example of the technology that is to come.–Pete DPhoto Credit:http://trasyy.livejournal.com/892213.htmlReferences:1. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/photogalleries/wip-week36/2. http://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/05/qiandao-lake-thousand-island-lake-and.html3. http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Watermill.html4. http://www.sino-impression.com/ScenicSpots2009421135746.html -- source link

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