A Few Shots Of Agongdian Reservoir (阿公店 水庫)

Each of these shots were taken yesterday afternoon from 3pm to 3.30pm on Xiaogangshan hill. Of the first two, I'm not sure which one I prefer; the lower elevation from which the first one was taken allows the eye to take in the pressurizing facility to the right of the dam (notice the blue pipes and the blue-roofed building); however, the higher elevation from which the second one was taken affords a clearer profile view of the reservoir's eastern contour.

Both shots reveal the python-shaped route of the spillway exiting from below the dam, which is an important feature, though the first shot is perhaps better in that respect. But there is something inherently appealing about the higher elevation shot (although the foreground clutter of bushes is unfortunate).

The other problem was the haze in the distance. When I switched to the 250mm to focus on the two feeder rivers the resulting shots were ugly. I had the same result last time I was here, and I'm not sure how to solve this problem - dawn or early morning is no good because the lens will be flooded by the rising sun. The only thing I can think of is to shoot following a rain wash-out, but that's not easy to arrange.

From the top of Xiaogangshan hill (standing on top of the old abandoned military structures), I was also able to notice what appear to be two inlets along the eastern contour which - for some reason that escapes me - I hadn't noticed last time. The significance of this is that I have yet to locate the entry point for the diversion channel running all the way from the Cishan river. It may be that one of these apparent inlets is it. One is further to the north opposite the northern footbridge...

The second one is further to the south, and is the one I fancy more because it has a road running alongside it and because its edges look slightly more "managed" than the one to the north.

In all the time I've known Agongdian reservoir, I've still not got around to following the path all the way around. It may be that both of these apparent inlets can be explored from this path, and that's what I'll have to do. Previously I had thought that the inlet for the diversion channel converged upon one of the existing feeder rivers (I may have been misled to this hypothesis by a graphic displayed in the Yanchao office). And previous to that I thought I had found it when I came across an old stream with newish rip-rap and concrete channels at the back of the reservoir.

I might be able to go down there this weekend. A few weeks ago I found a new route to take from Tainan city to reach Agongdian reservoir (only 31K as opposed to the 37K using highway 19 through Guanmiao). However, since my exercise has tailed off in recent weeks I don't think I'm fit enough to ride all the way down there, ride all the way around the path (lots of little climbs) and ride all the way back to Tainan again. But I'm probably fit enough to take the bike down on the train to Gangshan and then do it and ride back to Tainan.