This is a view toward the downstream face of the dam and the spillway. The picture includes three important points; first, note the large pile of sediment over to the right of the image - this is sediment that has been shifted away from the river's mouth by dumper truck; second, note the (now empty) dredging pools to the left; these are periodically filled up with water and sediment pumped out from the bed of the reservoir just behind the dam on the upstream side in order to keep the pumps working; third, note the irrigation channel to the bottom of the image - although it is drowned in excess sediment, Baihe is still a functioning reservoir that supplies irrigation water every day.
A view looking approximately due east with the reservoir's southern brachium stretching out north-eastwards; getting into position for this shot was a little difficult.
Overlooking the peninsula that forks the reservoir into two fractal brachia - this view is south-westwards from the north-east, looking toward that distinctive mountainside. Elsewhere, I used the tripod to take multiple shots at constant elevation for a panorama (which was one of the main purposes of today's trip), but I prefer this shot.
We decided to call it a day once I had the main pictures I wanted and showed off the escarpment road along the peninsula to my friend, but also because we had not been rewarded with any decent opportunities to photograph the eagles - until we decided to leave, that is. Whilst she was walking some way ahead of me, the big fella jumped off his branch not more than three or four meters above her head and she didn't even notice. I was on to him straight away, and although I got a couple of good underbelly-wings-outstretched close-ups, I already had plenty of those from previous excursions, and so I prefer this shot above (zoomed in below) because of the darker tones. For some reason, my pictures are coming out a bit grainy on the blogger platform, whereas in my preview application they are much sharper (e.g. the eagles' eye is very clear) - I don't know why this is.
I think that's probably it now for Baihe reservoir - I never stepped foot on the central island and I left the central channel alone, the one that splits the reservoir into northern and southern sections. Although the peninsula at the back has a long, winding escarpment road in order to give access to the electricity pylons that march across the reservoir, and of course the actual construction work in the '60s was carried out at the western end of the reservoir for the dam and ancilliary facilities, a mildly amusing thought occured to me: those central islands probably haven't seen human feet for many, many years.
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