The Yangzte River in China has caused environmental and ecological problems, not just in the modification of the environment, but also put a strain on the lives of individuals living in nearby provinces. Along the river there have been many environmental catastrophes which were caused by the constant flooding of the river. In the last century there has been at least one flood in every ten years. In order to prevent such natural disasters, the Three Gorges Dam was built in attempts to “reduce the danger of flooding in the lower plains regions and thus ameliorate economic losses.” (Li et al pg.975). The completion of the Three Gorges Dam in 2009 immediately sparked many concerns about its social-economic and environmental impacts on China. There has been an issue of displacement as large populations of farms have lost their agricultural land and are pushed into economic struggles. Although it is still early to determine if the Three Gorges Dam is responsible for most of the environmental issues today, more evidence continues to emerge each year. The dam’s dimensions were 1.3 miles long, 610 feet high, and the water was to rise to about 500 feet. Such a colossal dam meant that the flooding problems would be solved; however, they had not taken into account how the completion of such a large dam led to more environmental effects than expected such as sediment accumulation, changes in water levels in nearby lakes and changes in vegetation production near the dam.