|
The below is a sample preview of the full essay that is available in our database. To see
the full paper, just register for a free account. You get
access to thousands of example term papers in our super free essay database without paying
a cent.
|
Beginning of Paper
The Environmental Impacts of Large Dams
Land and water are ecologically linked in a natural system called a watershed. From the smallest
droplet to the mightiest river, water works to shape the land, taking with it sediment and dissolved materials
that drain to watercourses and, in most cases, eventually ....
|
|
Middle of Paper
.... or even ignored. A suvey
showed that most dams were built without the consideration of downstream effects, even when these
impacts could be predicted to cause massive coastal erosion, pollution, and other problems.
Reducing the flow of water from a river changes the landscape it flows through, which in turn can
affect the ecosystem's flora and fauna. A dam holds back sediments, especially the heavy gravel and cobbles.
The river, deprived of its sediment load, seeks to recapture it by eroding the downstream channel and banks,
and other riverbank struc ....
|
|
|