Engineering Geological Study of the Active Tectonic Region for Hydropower Development on the Jinsha River, Upstream of the Yangtze River

AbstractThe Jinsha River runs across the Hengduanshan north‐south tectonic zone where neotectonism was relatively strong, accompanied by various geologic hazards. In this case, it seems necessary to make a quantitative assessment and grading of the engineering geological environment for the planning and development of hydropower projects on the Jinsha River.The studies of crustal structures and activities of neotectonic fault blocks provide a three‐dimensional geomechanics model for us to make an assessment of the engineering geological environment. Based on the survey data and results from geologic hazard risk analysis, a hierarchical analysis model on the quality of the engineering geological environment is established with respect to the crustal stability, ground stability, and rock and soil mass stability. Nine factors relevant to the geological environment are selected and five levels are used for the quality grades: very bad, bad, mediocre, good, very good. The result indicates that active deep faults have an influence on the engineering geological environment of the Jinshajiang region.Finally, the authors present a preliminary evaluation on the constructional suitability of each planned site in the middle and lower reaches of the Jinsha River.