The Black River, (, from the Tai language ''Da'' meaning "dark-brown") also known upstream as the Lixian River () in China, is a river located in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and northwestern

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Course

Its source is in

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

province of China. From China, the river's course passes through the Vietnamese provinces of

Lai Châu Lai Châu () is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital city of Lai Châu Province. The city borders Phong Thổ District, Sìn Hồ District và Tam Đường District. History Lai Châu, or Muang Lay (Vietnamese: M� ...

(where it forms part of the border with Điện Biên province),

Sơn La Sơn La (; Tai Dam: ) is a city in the north-west region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Sơn La Province. It is bordered by Thuận Châu District, Mường La District, and Mai Sơn District. History In the era of the Sip Hoc Chau Tai, ...

and Hòa Bình. The Black River is the most important tributary of the Red River, which it joins in Tam Nông district near Việt Trì in Phú Thọ province. It also forms part of the border between Phú Thọ province and

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

(previously the border with

Hà Tây province Hà Tây () was a former provinces of Vietnam, province of Vietnam, in the Red River Delta, now part of Hanoi. Geography Hà Tây province was located in the Red River Delta bordering Hanoi municipality, Hưng Yên Province, Hưng Yên, Hà ...

). The river's total length is 910 km, with approximately 427 km in China and 527 km in Vietnam.

Hydroelectric power

The Black River yields substantial

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

. In China, seven dams are planned of which six, the

Yayangshan Dam The Yayangshan Dam (崖羊山大坝) is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Lixian River, bordering the counties of Ning'er and Mojiang in Yunnan Province, China. It is located from Pu'er City. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric ...

, Shimenkan Dam, Longma Dam, Jufudu Dam,

Gelantan Dam The Gelantan Dam (戈兰滩大坝) is a gravity dam on the Lixian River, bordering the counties of Honghe and Jiangcheng in Yunnan Province, China. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is ...

, and

Tukahe Dam The Tukahe Dam (土卡河) is a gravity dam on the Lixian River, bordering the counties of Luchun and Jiangcheng in Yunnan Province, China. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electr ...

, have been completed. The Xinpingzhai Dam is still in the planning stage. The total installed power capacity of this series of dams is approximately 1,300

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s. In

, there are three large hydroelectric plants on the Black River. The

Hòa Bình Dam The Hòa Bình Dam on the Black River () is the largest hydroelectric dam in Vietnam from 1994 to 2012 (this record was broken by Sơn La Dam), and one of the largest in Southeast Asia, with a generating capacity of . The Sông Đà Reservoir, ...

was completed in 1994. The

Sơn La Dam Sơn La Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Black River in Ít Ong, Mường La District, Sơn La Province, Vietnam. It is the largest hydroelectric power station in Southeast Asia. History The project was proposed in the 1970s. Several stu ...

was completed in 2012 and became the largest hydroelectric producer in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. The

Lai Châu Dam The Lai Châu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Black River inaugurated on 20 December 2016 in Nậm Nhùn District, Lai Châu Province, Vietnam. The owner of the power station is Vietnam Electricity. The dam was designed by Hydroproject, a ...

in the

Mường Tè district Mường Tè is a rural district of Lai Châu province in the Northwest region of Vietnam. As of 2019, the district had a population of 46,143. The district covers an area of 2,679.34 km². The district capital lies at Mường Tè. ''Mư ...

of Lai Châu province was inaugurated on December 20, 2016. The total installed power capacity of these three dams is 5,520

References

External links

{{Coord, 21, 13, 37.05, N, 105, 20, 51.79, E, display=title Rivers of Lai Châu province Rivers of Điện Biên province Rivers of Phú Thọ province Hong River Borders of Vietnam Rivers of Hanoi Rivers of Yunnan Geography of Pu'er Geography of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture Rivers of Vietnam

Course

Hydroelectric power

See also

References

External links