The Yellow River Basin in China (Geographical History)

Learn about the geography of the Yellow River basin. Read about its characteristics and changes over time. Also, learn about the dams on the YellowRiver. The YellowRiver was once the most important in China, but dams were built to divert its course. The river is mostly dry, but its riverbed is still fertile and one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.

What Do You Know About Yellow River?

The YellowRiver, also known as the Huang He, is the second-longest river in China. It is located north of the country and flows for more than 5,500 kilometres from its source in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to its mouth in the Bohai Sea. The YellowRiver basin covers an area of 795,000 square kilometres and is home to over 100 million people.

The YellowRiver is an important waterway for transportation and irrigation and a source of many people’s drinking water. The river also plays an important role in Chinese culture and history. For example, the YellowRiver is sometimes known as the “cradle of Chinese civilization” because it was the area where the first Chinese dynasty, the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BCE), is thought to have originated. The YellowRiver is also considered one of the most dangerous rivers in the world due to its frequent floods.

Geography of the YellowRiver Basin

The YellowRiver Basin is located in the north of China. It is a large basin of nutrient-rich land once covered by the arid loess blown from the Gobi Desert in the centre of the Arid Zone. The arid climate and wind influenced the culture of the farmers in this area.

The YellowRiver is divided into two parts – the source and the middle reaches. The source section of the YellowRiver flows through vast plains, gorges, and swamps. The middle reaches of the Yellow River drain an area of 344,000 square kilometres and contain about 30 large tributaries.

Characteristics

The sediments of the YellowRiver are controlled by climate-induced physical erosion and chemical weathering processes in the northern East Asian marginal sea. We propose that EAWM dominated the long-term trend in clay-sized sediments in the northern Okinawa Trough during the last 300 ka. These results are consistent with previous studies that found that most of the sediments of the YellowRiver originated from the Loess Plateau.

These sediments are strongly affected by wind, particularly the older loess deposits. As a result, clay mineral proxies are unsuitable for recording the East Asian summer monsoon climate and its associated chemical weathering alteration. In addition, clay mineral proxies are not found in the loess-paleosol sequence of the Chinese Loess Plateau.

Impact of the Yellow River on China World

The YellowRiver has had a profound impact on China and its history. Since the third millennium B.C.E., the river has flooded more than 1,500 times and changed its course 26 times. Historical maps show the river flowing through Shanxi, Hebei, and Shandong provinces, emptying into Bohai Bay near Tianjin. But the course of the river has not been stable, and it has been in flux for a very long time.

The lower reaches of the YellowRiver have almost dried up every year since 1972, and the water derived from the river was insufficient to meet the irrigation needs of 140 million people. In 1999, the YellowRiver served about seventy thousand square kilometres of land. Its water volume is highest in the rainy season, from July to October. However, water is needed for irrigation between March and June.

Problems of Water Pollution on China’s Yellow River

In response to the water pollution problems in China’s YellowRiver basin, the YellowRiver Conservancy Committee has taken steps to reduce pollution and improve environmental conditions. It is committed to restoring the river’s natural ecology and creating better habitats for wildlife. It is also working to improve river water quality and restore migration channels for fish stocks. The plan also calls for coordinated efforts between different regions. And sectors to protect the river’s ecology and respond to climate change.

Two important parts of the YellowRiver basin have significant high-low conditions, and these regions are the upper reaches and the junction of the middle and lower reaches. These regions are more vulnerable to pollution and water shortage. Hence, protecting the watershed and ensuring the ecological security of human civilization in the region is essential.

Devastated Floods Caused by the Yellow River

The YellowRiver is one of the largest rivers in the world, but it has a history of devastating floods, particularly in the lower reaches. Geological evidence, geomorphological maps, and historical records provide clues to its past channel positions. Government policy has focused on preventing future course changes. And controlling flooding through the construction of dams, off-stream retention basins, and artificial levees. Although floods caused by the YellowRiver are rare, they can happen when river levels rise to a high enough level.

Floods caused by the YellowRiver are usually caused by excessive snowmelt or ice blocking the flow. In March 2008, the YellowRiver had its heaviest ice flow in 40 years due to harsh winter conditions. The river flows north through Inner Mongolia before turning south into warmer climates.

Verdict

That’s all about the article where you learned. The YellowRiver is an important waterway for transportation and irrigation and a source of many people’s drinking water. The river also plays an important role in Chinese culture and history. For example, the Yellow River is sometimes known as the “cradle of Chinese civilization”. Because it was the area where the first Chinese dynasty, the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BCE), is thought to have originated and much more.