A gulf is a large bay.

It is also a large area of the

sea partly surrounded by
land.
Larger areas of the ocean
reach into the land in the
case of a gulf.
The oval-shaped Gulf of Mexico covers 1.5
million sq km (579,000 sq mi). This view of
part of the gulf, includes the westernmost
island in the Florida Keys, a chain of islands
off the coast of Florida.

The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the
southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak
Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago. According to the United
States Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, the Gulf of
Alaska is bounded on the north by the coast of Alaska and on the south by a
line running from the south end of Kodiak Island on the west to Dixon
Entrance on the east.


The Lingayen Gulf is large gulf on
Northwestern Luzon in the Philippines. It is framed by
the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits
between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera
Central.

Region:
Ilocos Region
Part of:
South China Sea
Coordinates:
1617N 12012E
Length:
55 km (34 mi)
Width:
35 km (22 mi)

Albay Gulf is a large gulf in the southern
part of Luzon island, Philippines, at 13.2N
123.93E.
The place has been one of the tourist spots
in the province because of the frequent
sightings of whale sharks (known as
"butanding" in the local vernacular) in the
coastal areas. Their presence led to the
town's receiving the moniker "whale shark
capital of the world."
Davao Gulf is a gulf found in Mindanao in the Philippines. It has an area of
308,000 hectares. Davao Gulf cuts into the island of Mindanao from
Philippine Sea. It is surrounded by all five provinces in the Davao Region.


The Persian Gulf is
located in Western
Asia between Iran to
the northeast and
the Arabian
Peninsula to the
southwest. The
Persian Gulf is an
extension of
the Indian
Ocean (Gulf of Oman)
through the Strait of
Hormuz. The Shatt al-
Arab river delta forms
the northwest
shoreline.

Location:
Western Asia
Primary inflows:
Sea of Oman
Basin countries:
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain,
United Arab
Emirates and Oman
Max. length:
989 km (615 mi)
Surface area:
251,000 km (97,000 sq mi)
Average depth:
50 m (160 ft)
Max. depth:
90 m (300 ft)


Gulf of Suez, arm of the Red Sea, northeastern Egypt, between
the Sinai Peninsula and the Arabian Desert. It has a length of 290
km (180 mi) with a breadth of 25 to 55 km (15 to 35 mi). At its
northern end, which is the extreme northern end of the Red Sea,
the Gulf of Suez is connected with the Mediterranean Sea by the
Suez Canal.

The Gulf of Saint Lawrence (French: Golfe du Saint-Laurent), the world's
largest estuary, is the outlet of the North American Great Lakes via the Saint
Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean. The gulf is a semienclosed sea,
covering an area of about 236,000 square kilometres (91,000 sq mi) and
containing about 35,000 cubic kilometres (8,400 cu mi) of water, which
results in an average depth of 148 metres (486 ft).
A bay is a part of a lake or an
ocean which creates a semi-
circular indentation along the
shore.
Its water is quiet and free from
strong currents and makes a
natural harbor.
Towns and cities often develop
beside bays.

Location Luzon Island, Philippines
River sources
Pasig River
Pampanga River
Max. length 19 km (12 mi)
Max. width 48 km (30 mi)
Surface area 2,000 km
2
(770 sq mi)
Today, Manila Bay still remains important
for commerce and industry, including
fishing, although rapid urban growth and
industrialization are contributing to a
decline in water quality and deteriorating
marine habitats. It also serves a focus for
recreation for Metro Manila and is a
popular destination for walks and for
viewing the sunset. Much of the land
fronting the bay along Metro Manila is
reclaimed land which now includes
important sites such as the Philippine
Senate and the Mall of Asia.
The Bay covers
somewhere between 400
and 1,600 square miles
(1,040 to 4,160 square
kilometers), depending
on which sub-bays (such
as San Pablo Bay),
estuaries, wetlands, and
so on are included in the
measurement. The main
part of the Bay measures
3 to 12 miles (5 to
20 km) wide east-to-
west and somewhere
between 48 miles
(77 km) and 60 miles
(97 km) north-to-south.
It is the largest Pacific
estuary in the Americas.
San Francisco,
Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow,
productive estuary that drains water
from approximately forty percent of
California. Water from the Sacramento
and San Joaquin rivers, and from the
Sierra Nevada mountains passes
through the Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
Specifically, both rivers flow into
Suisun Bay, which flows through the
Carquinez Strait to meet with the Napa
River at the entrance to San Pablo Bay,
which connects at its south end to San
Francisco Bay.



The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the worlds
most famous bridges. It spans the San Francisco
Bay in California.


Bay of Bengal, arm of the Indian Ocean, between India on the west and
Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and the Malay Peninsula on the east.
In the southeast, the Andaman and Nicobar islands, formed by the peaks of a
submerged mountain range, separate the Bay of Bengal from the Andaman
Sea. . The bay is 2,100 km (1,300 mi) long and 1,600 km (1,000 mi) wide.

Hudson Bay is a massive inland sea in northeastern Canada. The bay
is bordered by the provinces of Ontario, Qubec, and Manitoba, and
by the Nunavut Territory administrative region. The bay is named
for English explorer Henry Hudson, who in 1610 became the first
European to explore the region.


Hudson Bay, along with its southern extension, James Bay, is about
1450 km (about 900 mi) long and up to about 965 km (about 600 mi)
wide; it has an area of about 1,230,000 sq km (about 475,000 sq mi).
The average depth of Hudson Bay is about 101 m (about 330 ft), and
its maximum depth is about 867 m (about 2,846 ft).


The Bay of Santorini or Thra is one of the most beautiful
bays in the world. It is located in the Aegean Sea and is a
part of Greece. It is the remnants of a huge volcanic
explosion that destroyed the earliest settlements on
what was formerly a single island and led to the creation
of the current geological caldera.


Nha Trang Bay is a world-class tourist destination
located in Vietnam and is regarded as amongst the most
beautiful bays in the world. It is where the coastal city
of Nha Trang is situated. Nha Trang is famous for its
pristine beaches and excellent scuba diving sites.

12 N, 108 E - South China sea

The bay of Nha Trang is located in the province of Khan
Hoa, southern maritime area of Central Vietnam. Nha
Trang city is the political, economic, cultural center of
this province ; it's build in the estuary of Cai river and is
surounded by 4 montains ("Long Son" = dragon, "Sinh
Trung"= lphant, "Trai Thuy = tortue, "Hoa Son" =
chauve souris).
With a surface of 507 km2, the bay extends between Cay
Cape (north) and Dong Ba Cape (south) ; the coastline
(103 km) includes two distinct parts : continental and
islander, thus contributing to a great biodiversity but
also to the development of the maritime activities:
tourism, aquaculture and product processing,
transportation, ...the main problem concerns :
environmental pollution, illegal exploitation of mineral
and forest resources ; fast urbanization.




Ha Long Bay is a fascinating beauty of nature located in
Quong Ninh, Vietnam. The name literally means Descending
Dragon Bay. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a well-
known travel destination. The bay, which features thousands
of limestone karsts and isles of different shapes and sizes, is
part of Ha Long City.

Ha Long Bay, in the gulf of Tonkin, includes some 1 600
islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of
limestone pillars. Because of their precipitous nature,
most of the islands are uninhabited and unaffected by a
human presence.

Puerto Vallarta Bay in Puerto Vallarta City, Mexico is
situated at Baha de Banderas on the Pacific Ocean.


The bay of Banderas - Puerto Vallarta is situated at the foot of
Sierra Madre mountains. Bahia de Banderas is the Mexico's
biggest bay (80 km) ; the town of Puerto Vallarta, founded in
XVI century by spanish, is an important tourist place.


Mindelo Bay is located in Cape. It is part of Mindelo City,
a port city in the northern part of the island of Sao
Vicente.

Mindelo bay belongs to the volcanic Cape Verde
archipelago (3 850 km) located off the coast of
Senegal and Gambia.


Phang Nga Bay
is a popular
and beautiful
bay in
Thailand. It is
part of the
Andaman Sea
and has an area
of 400 km.
The rock
formation on
the above
photo is
popularly
known as
James Bond
island.


A lake is completely
enriched by land.
Its coast is called shores.
Some lakes are very small
but others are so large
that they are like inland
seas.

WHERE DOES LAKE WATER COME
FROM?

Lake water comes from rain or snow.
Sometimes the rain or snow falls right
into the lake. Sometimes the rain or
snow makes rivers or streams. Rivers
and streams can flow into lakes.
How much water a lake holds changes
all the time. A lot of rain or snow can fill
a lake up until it overflows. Too little
rain or snow can cause a lake to dry up.


The bowls in the ground that lakes fill
sometimes formed because of sliding
or moving rock and mud. Most lakes
formed because of huge fields of ice
called glaciers. Glaciers carved out
most lakes when the ice moved. The
ice ground up rock below. The
ground-up rock froze in the ice. The
glacier carried the rock away. This
left a bowl-like shape in the ground.
Rainwater filled up the bowl.

HOW DID LAKES FORM?

In this photograph, melting snow from glaciers
in the mountains feed Peyto Lake in Canada.
WHAT MAKES A LAKE A LAKE?


Big lakes and small lakes are like bowls in
the ground filled with water. Lakes are not
part of the ocean. Lakes are called inland
bodies of water.
Most lakes are filled with fresh water, but a
few are filled with salty water.

WHERE ARE THE GREAT LAKES?
The Great Lakes are located in the eastern half of
North America along the United States-Canadian
border. The lakes are a part of both countries and
are shared by both. Only Lake Michigan lies
entirely within the United States.
Eight American states border the lakes to the
south. They are New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and
Wisconsin. The big Canadian province of Ontario
is on the north side of the lakes.
Four of North Americas largest cities are located
on the edge of the Great Lakes. They are Chicago,
Detroit, Toronto, and Cleveland.
World's Largest
Inland Seas and Lakes Approximate Area
Caspian Sea, Asia 371,000 sq km/143,000 sq mi
Lake Superior, North America 82,100 sq km/31,700 sq mi
Lake Victoria, Africa 69,490 sq km/26,830 sq mi
Lake Huron, North America 59,600 sq km/23,000 sq mi
Lake Michigan, North America 57,800 sq km/22,300 sq mi
Lake Tanganyika, Africa 32,900 sq km/12,700 sq mi
Great Bear Lake, North America 31,790 sq km/12,270 sq mi
Lake Baikal, Asia 31,500 sq km/12,200 sq mi
Great Slave Lake, North America 28,570 sq km/11,030 sq mi


Max. length:
1,030 km (640 mi)
Max. width:
435 km (270 mi)
Surface area:
371,000 km2 (143,200 sq mi)
Average depth:
211 m (690 ft)
Max. depth:
1,025 m (3,360 ft)
Water volume:
78,200 km3 (18,800 cu mi)
Residence time:
250 years
Shore length:
7,000 km (4,300 mi)
Surface elevation:
28 m (92 ft)


The Caspian has characteristics common to both
seas and lakes. It is often listed as the world's
largest lake, although it is not a freshwater lake.
It contains about 3.5 times more water, by
volume, than all five of North America's Great
Lakes combined. The Caspian was once part of
the Tethys Ocean, but became landlocked about
5.5 million years ago due to plate tectonics. The
Volga River (about 80% of the inflow) and the
Ural River discharge into the Caspian Sea, but it
has no natural outflow other than by
evaporation. Thus the Caspian ecosystem is a
closed basin, with its own sea level history that
is independent of the eustatic level of the
world's oceans.

Lake Victoria in Africa is the worlds second-largest
freshwater lake. These large rock formations lie on the
lakes southern shore in Tanzania.


Great Salt Lake, Utah
The Great Salt Lake in Utah is one of the
saltiest lakes in the world.

The Great Salt Lake in Utah is filled with water that is much
saltier than ocean water. The salt comes from streams
flowing into the Great Salt Lake. When water in this lake
evaporates (turns into a gas), the salt is left behind.

Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes located
entirely within the United States.
This view of Lake Michigan shows the city of Chicago,
Illinois, in the background.


Lake Baikal, Russia
Lake Baikal, in Russia, is the deepest lake in the
world.



Lake Erie is the southernmost of the Great Lakes. It is
also the shallowest of the lakes.




Lake Superior is one of the five Great Lakes of North
America. It is also the biggest freshwater lake in the
world.


Lake Tanganyika, lake in east central Africa, in the
Great Rift Valley, bordered on the north by Burundi, on
the east by Tanzania, on the south by Zambia, and on the
west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC,
formerly Zaire).
Great Bear Lake, large freshwater lake in the Fort Smith and
Inuvik regions of the western Northwest Territories,
northwestern Canada, lying astride the Arctic Circle. Great Bear
Lake is the largest lake entirely within Canada and the seventh
largest lake in the world.

Great Slave Lake is the second largest lake in Canada
and the deepest lake in North America. As the source of
the Mackenzie River, it lies at the head of one of the
worlds great waterways.

Aral Sea (Russian Aralskoye More; Uzbek Orol Dengizi), saltwater
lake, or inland sea, in Central Asia, in southwestern Kazakhstan
and northwestern Uzbekistan, about 450 km (about 280 mi) east of
the Caspian Sea.
Because the rivers that feed the lake are used to irrigate
crops, the Aral Sea is shrinking. Compare the picture
from 1989, left, to the one from 2003, right, which shows
a much smaller lake.

Taal Lake is a freshwater lake in the province of Batangas, on the
island of Luzon in the Philippines. The lake fills Taal Caldera, a
large volcanic caldera formed by very large eruptions between
500,000 and 100,000 years ago

Laguna de Bay is the largest lake in the Philippines located
east of Metro Manila between the provinces of Laguna to the
south and Rizal to the north.
Area: 911.7 km
Surface elevation: 2.00 m
Length: 41 km
Islands: Talim Island, Wonder Island


Lake Lanao is a large lake in the Philippines, located in Lanao
del Sur province in the country's southern island of Mindanao.
Area: 340 km
Surface elevation: 700 m
Length: 33 km
Cities: Marawi
Lake Buluan is a lake located in the island of Mindanao,
Philippines. With an estimated surface area of 61.34 square
kilometers, it is the third largest lake in Mindanao. It has an
average elevation of 4.5 meters.
Area: 61.34 km
Mean depth: 4.50 m
Lake Mainit is the fourth largest lake in the Philippines, having a
surface area of 173.40 square kilometers. The lake is also the
deepest lake in the country with maximum depth reaching 223
meters.
Area: 173.4 km
Surface elevation: 27 m
Length: 29.1 km
Cities: Surigao City, Jabonga, Butuan, Kitcharao

Naujan Lake is the fifth largest lake in the Philippines, in the
northeastern corner of the province of Oriental Mindoro on
Mindoro Island. The lake itself is approximately 8,125 ha of open
water in Naujan Lake National Park.
Area: 81.25 km
Length: 14 km
Width: 7 km
Titicaca or Titiqaqa is a lake in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. By
volume of water, it is the largest lake in South America.
Surface elevation: 3,812 m
Area: 8,372 km
Catchment area: 56,270 km
Length: 190 km
Islands: Taquile Island, Amantan, Isla del Sol, Isla de la Luna, Uros, Suriqui
Cities: Puno, Copacabana
Fish: Titicaca Orestias



The narrow body of water that connects
two large bodies of water.
It may be formed by a fracture in
an isthmus, a narrow body of land that
connects two bodies of water. Tectonic
shifts can lead to straits like this. One
strait that was formed by tectonic
activity is the Strait of Gibraltar, the
only link between the Mediterranean
Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
The middle of the Atlantic is a
vast expanse of water. Around
its edges, it opens to a number
of seas. In the east, you can sail
from the Atlantic into the
Mediterranean Sea through a
tiny opening called the Strait of
Gibraltar. In the west, you can
sail into the Caribbean Sea and
the Gulf of Mexico.



The stormy waters south of Tierra del Fuego
(close to Antarctica) made the Strait of
Magellan, to the north, more attractive
to mariners. Although the landmasses protect
the strait from harsh Antarctic weather, the
Strait of Magellan is still difficult to navigate.
It is narrow and the islands of Tierra del Fuego
can lead to confusion in stormy weather.
The temperatures can reach freezing.
Strong wind and waves make visibility and
steering complex.





The Strait of Malacca or Straits of Malacca is a narrow, 805 km stretch of
water between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of
Sumatra. It is named after the Malacca sultanate that ruled over the
archipelago between 1400 and 1511.
Area: 65,000 km
Bridges: Pulau Bunting Bridge
The Bering Strait is a strait 82 kilometres wide at its narrowest point,
between Cape Dezhnev, Chukchi Peninsula, Russia, the easternmost
point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska,
Islands: Little Diomede Island, Big Diomede
The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait or Straat van Dover is the strait at
the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary
between the Channel and North Sea, separating Great Britain from
continental Europe.
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about 95 miles long
that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international
boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the center
of the Strait.
The Strait of Messina (Stretto di Messina in Italian language, Strittu di
Missina in Sicilian) is the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily(Punta
del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria (Punta Pezzo) in the south ofItaly. It
connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, within
the central Mediterranean. At its narrowest point, it measures 3.1 km (1.9 mi) in
width, though near the town of Messina the width is some 5.1 km (3.2 mi) and
maximum depth is 250 m (830 ft).
The Straits of Tiran, are the narrow sea passages, about 13 km wide,
between the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas which separate the Gulf of
Aqaba from the Red Sea.
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It
connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the
southeast, and runs next to the capital city, Wellington. It is 22 kilometres
(14 mi) wide at its narrowest point, and is considered one of the most dangerous
and unpredictable waters in the world.
The strait is named after James Cook, the first European commander to sail
through it, in 1770. In Mori it has the name Raukawa or Raukawa
Moana.Raukawa may mean "bitter leaves".
The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black
Ditch, is a 180 kilometres wide strait separating the island of Taiwan
from the Asian mainland.

The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait is a strait located
south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be
between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida
Keys and Cuba.
Islands: Big Pine Key
Bridges: Overseas Highway


The Dardanelles , formerly known as Hellespont (/hlspnt/;Greek: Hellespontos,
literally "Sea of Helle"), is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting
the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its
counterpart, the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately 4013N 2626E. The strait
is 61 kilometres (38 mi) long but only 1.2 to 6 kilometres (0.75 to 3.73 mi) wide,
averaging 55 metres (180 ft) deep with a maximum depth of 103 metres (338 ft).
Water flows in both directions along the strait, from the Sea of Marmara to the
Aegean via a surface current and in the opposite direction via an undercurrent.
Historically, straits have had
great strategic importance. Whoever
controls a strait is likely to control
the sea and shipping routes of the
entire region.
A strait can also be formed by a body
of water overflowing land that
has subsided or has been eroded. The
Bosporus, which links the Black Sea
and the Aegean Sea, was formed this
way. Land at the southwestern edge of
the Black Sea eroded and crumbled,
creating a strait.

A man-made strait is called a canal.
Some canals are famous as man-made passages.
Not all canals are used for ocean going ships.
Inland canals, like those found in Western Europe,
are used to ship farm and factory goods to nearby
towns or seaports.
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are
two types of canal:
1. Aqueducts: water supply canals that are used for
the conveyance and delivery of potable water for
human consumption, municipal uses, and agriculture
irrigation. Rills and Acesquias are small versions.
2. Waterways: navigable transportation canals used
for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and
conveying people.


Some ship canals, such as the Suez and
Panama canals, provide navigational
shortcuts by connecting large bodies of
water. Other ship canals, such as the Houston
Ship Channel and Baltic-White Sea canals,
connect an inland harbor to the ocean.
Railroads and motor vehicles have taken over
much of the commercial traffic of canals in
the United States, but canals remain an
important means of transporting goods in
Europe and Russia.

Baltic Sea, enclosed sea, northern Europe, bounded by
Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia,
Poland, and Germany.


From the peninsula of Denmark, considered the Baltics
limit, the sea extends east to longitude 30 east and
north to about latitude 66 north.

The greatest length of the Baltic, from Lbeck, Germany, to
Haparanda, Sweden, is 1,500 km (930 mi); the breadth varies from
690 km (430 mi), between Stockholm and Saint Petersburg, to
less than 80 km (50 mi) at the southern extremity. The Baltic
covers an area of 422,000 sq km (163,000 sq mi).
The Suez Canal runs across northeastern
Egypt and connects the Mediterranean Sea
with the Red Sea. The Suez canal is 121 miles
(195 kilometers) long and first opened in
1869. It provides a shortcut for ships traveling
between European ports and ports in the
Americas, Asia, and Africa.



The Suez Canal cuts across northeastern Egypt.
The canal connects the Mediterranean Sea with
the Gulf of Suez, an arm of the Red Sea. It is
among the world's busiest and most important
canals.


The Suez Canal is the world's most important
international water lane, in respect to its
length, depth, and the amount of cargo shipped
through it.


The Suez Canal separates the Sinai Peninsula from the rest of Egypt.
The canal runs from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. It allows
ships to sail from Europe to Asia without going all the way around
Africa. It is one of the worlds most important waterways.
The canal was built by Europeans and opened in 1869. The
Europeans controlled the canal until Nasser came to power. In 1956,
Nasser claimed the canal for his country. A war broke out, but
Egypt ended up keeping the canal.

The Panama Canal cuts across Central America
and links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The
canal is 40 miles (64 kilometers) long and was
completed in 1914. Today, the Panama Canal is one
of the worlds busiest canals. The United States
built the canal from 1904 to 1914.




The Grand Canal is a canal in Venice, Italy. It forms one of the major
water-traffic corridors in the city. Public transport is provided by
water buses and private water taxis, and many tourists explore the
canal by gondola.

The Grand Canal
(Italian: Canal Grande, Venetian: Canaasso) is
a canal in Venice, Italy. It forms one of the
major water-traffic corridors in the city.
Public transport is provided by water buses
(Italian: vaporetti) and private water taxis,
and many tourists explore the canal by
gondola.
At one end, the canal leads into the lagoon near
the Santa Lucia railway station and the other
end leads into Saint Mark Basin; in between, it
makes a large reverse-S shape through the
central districts (sestieri) of Venice. It is
3,800 m long, 3090 m wide, with an average
depth of five meters (16.5 ft).

Grand Canal, China
China has more than 100,000 km (60,000 mi) of navigable
inland waterways. The busiest is the Grand Canal, which
extends from Beijing to Hangzhou. Construction of the canal
largely took place in the 7th and 13th centuries. It is now
used primarily for industrial purposes.

Grand Canal of China in Suzhou
Specifications
Length 1,115 miles (1,794 km)
History
Construction began
Spring and Autuma period
to Qing dynasty
Geography
Start point Beijing
End point Hangzhou
Connects to
Hai River, Yellow River,
Huai River, Yangtze River,
Qiantang River
The Grand Canal is currently being upgraded to serve
as the Eastern Route of the South-North Water
Transfer Project. Additional amounts of water from
the Yangtze will be drawn into the canal in Jiangdu
City, where a giant 400 m
3
/s (14,000 cu ft/s) pumping
station was already built in the 1980s, and is then fed
uphill by pumping stations along the route and
through a tunnel under the Yellow River, from where
it can flow downhill to reservoirs near Tianjin.
Construction on the Eastern Route officially began on
December 27, 2002 AD, and water is supposed to reach
Tianjin by 2012. However, water pollution has affected
the viability of this project.