Going through the Iron GateJun 19, 2011
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A beautiful sunset on the Danube
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| Going through the Iron Gate which is between the countries of Serbia, and Romania - and just having left Bulgaria. We are now travelling into Serbia on the Danube and you are probably wondering what is this 'iron gate' that we have to go through? A so called 'Iron Gate' is the a term used to describe the approx 60 mile long gorge cut through the Carpathians and Balkan Mountains by the Danube. These cliffs are of limestone and do contain quartz. There are lochs along the way and in this area there are two, and within one of them it has two levels for the boat to rise. The lochs help you to rise, or lower (depending on which way you are travelling) to the level of the river, as there are different river heights. We came across two hydro electric power stations. The biggest being the one that is considered to be the fifth largest in the world - Djerdap 1. It was constructed between 1964-72, and jointly by Romania and the former Republic of Yugoslavia. It produces 2,056 mega watts of electricity as its maximum capacity compared to Loy Yang A & B (in Victoria) produce 1,000 mega watts. The scenery that we saw as we cruised changed rapidly, all was fascinating and soothing to the soul. On the boat, we have three levels that we can view, including the top level out in the open air and with plenty of chairs. All beautiful! |
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