page_title: Iron Gates
section_title: Dams
hierarchical_section_title: Iron Gates / Natural physical features / Dams
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Kraftwerk Eisernes Tor I (Donau); Unterwasserseite mit 400-kV-Freileitungskreuzung der Donau, Blick vom rumänischen Ufer (links Serbien) English: Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station; view from downstream Romanian side towards the dam (left parts in Serbia), 400 kV overhead power line crossing Nederlands: IJzeren Poort I Stuwdam
context_page_description: The Iron Gates is a gorge on the river Danube. It forms part of the boundary between Serbia and Romania. In the broad sense it encompasses a route of 134 km; in the narrow sense it only encompasses the last barrier on this route, just beyond the Romanian city of Orșova, that contains two hydroelectric dams, with two power stations, Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station and Iron Gate II Hydroelectric Power Station.
  At this point in the Danube, the river separates the southern Carpathian Mountains from the northwestern foothills of the Balkan Mountains. The Romanian side of the gorge constitutes the Iron Gates Natural Park, whereas the Serbian part constitutes the Đerdap National Park. A wider protected area on the Serbian side was declared the UNESCO global geopark in July 2020.
  Archaeologists have named the Iron Gates mesolithic culture, of the central Danube region circa 13,000 to 5,000 years ago, after the gorge. One of the most important archaeological sites in Serbia and Europe is Lepenski Vir, the oldest planned settlement in Europe, located on the banks of the Danube in the Iron Gate gorge.
context_section_description: The construction of the joint Romanian-Yugoslavian mega project commenced in 1964. In 1972 the Iron Gate I Dam was opened, followed by Iron Gate II Dam, in 1984, along with two hydroelectric power stations, two sluices and navigation locks for shipping.
  The construction of these dams gave the valley of the Danube below Belgrade the nature of a reservoir, and additionally caused a 35 m rise in the water level of the river near the dam. The old Orșova, the Danube island of Ada Kaleh (below) and at least five other villages, totaling a population of 17,000, had to make way. People were relocated and the settlements have been lost forever to the Danube.
  When designed and built without adequate attention to the natural functioning of a river, dams have the effect of cutting a river into ecologically isolated compartments, which do not allow free movement and migration of species. Migratory fish are particularly badly hit, being rendered unable to move upstream or downstream between their spawning grounds and areas used at other times in their life cycle. The construction of the Iron Gates had a major impact on the local fauna and flora as well—for example, the spawning routes of several species of sturgeon were permanently interrupted. Beluga sturgeon was the largest, and the largest specimen was recorded in 1793, at 500 kg (1,100 lb). There have also been significant regional economic impacts – notably on the productivity of Danube fisheries. The status of the Danube’s migratory fish species is a strong indicator of the ecological health of the entire Danube River Basin, which in turn has wider economic and strategic consequences.
  The flora and fauna, as well as the geomorphological, archaeological and cultural historical artifacts of the Iron Gates have been under the protection of both nations since the construction of the dam. In Serbia this was done with the Đerdap National Park (since 1974, 636.08 km² (245.59 sq mi)) and in Romania by the Porțile de Fier National Park (since 2001, 1,156.55 km² (446.55 sq mi)).
caption: Iron Gate I dam
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