Image of
The Korean Peninsula
Yalu River, China and North Korea
October 1993
This north-looking, low-oblique photograph shows the Yalu River that forms the
border between China and North Korea. The Yalu, more than 500 miles (805
kilometers) long, originates in the Changpai Mountains of China and flows
southwest into Korea Bay. The river is navigable for larger vessels for almost
15 miles (24 kilometers) in the lower reaches, but only for smaller craft in
other sections. Important cities at its mouth are Dandong (Chinese) and Sinuiju
(Korean), both of which have sawmills and other wood-processing industries that
use the timber floated downstream. The Yalu River has a hydroelectric power
potential estimated at 1.5 million kilowatts. The Shuifeng Dam on the Yalu (near
center of photograph) above the city of Sinuiju is one of the largest dams in
Asia. Manchuria’s need for hydroelectric power in the early 1950s might have
been a reason for Chinese Communist troops entering the Korean War when United
Nations troops reached the Yalu. Construction of electric power facilities in
Manchuria since the late 1950s has lessened the importance of the Yalu’s power
plants to China. (NASA).
