Huanghe, which means "yellow river" in Chinese, is one of the largest rivers in Asia. This name is associated with a huge amount of sediment, which gives its waters a yellow tint. The sea into which the river flows also has a yellowish color and is called Yellow. The Yellow River originates in the mountains of Tibet, on the eastern slope of the highlands, at an altitude of more than 4 thousand meters. Further, the river begins to descend from the mountains, passes through 2 suitable lakes (Dzharin-Nur and Orin-Nur) and descends into the valley along the spurs of mountain ranges. Here it crosses 2 desert plateaus (Loess and Ordos) and forms a huge bend. The river then follows through the gorges of the Shanghai Mountains and flows out into the Great Plain. Here its length is more than 700 kilometers. The mouth of the river is located at the Bahai Bay. The area of the Yellow River basin is 770 thousand square kilometers, and its length is about 5 thousand kilometers.
Geography of the Yellow River
The Yellow River in China flows through 7 provinces: Shandong, Shaanxi, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Ningxia Hui and Gansu. Huang He is usually divided into three parts: lower, middle and upper reaches. The first one is onGreat Chinese Plain. The middle one is between Shaanxi Province and the Ordos Plateau. The upper one is from the sources on the Tibetan Plateau to the Loess Plateau. The Yellow River is one of the deepest in the world. The Yellow River Basin provides drinking, industrial and agricultural water to more than 140 million people. Its channel is extremely mobile and it often overflows its banks. Floods bring numerous disasters, which gave rise to the second name of the river - "The Trouble of China". But the opposite phenomena were also observed, for example, in the 90s of the last century, the Yellow River dried up completely in the northern regions more than once.
Floods on the Yellow River
For 3 thousand years, the Huang He overflowed its banks more than one and a half thousand times and changed its direction 26 times. To protect against floods, many dams and diversion channels have been built on the Yellow River, which, nevertheless, do not change the situation on the river. Studies by American scientists have shown that the structures not only do not stop the problem, but even provoke it, since for more than 3 thousand years people have been blocking the natural flow of the river. Hydraulic structures slow down the flow of the river, thereby provoking sedimentation on the bottom. As a result, the water rises again, and the strength of the floods increases from time to time. People are building even more powerful dams and deep diversion channels, but the Yellow River is overflowing its banks more and more intensively. Such a struggle between man and the river can lead to unforeseen consequences.
History of the Yellow River
Ancient maps of the first rulers of Chinashow that the Yellow River flowed north of its current course. In 2356 BC, a flood occurred on it, the Yellow River changed its course and began to flow into the Jili Bay. After 2 thousand years, diversion channels and dams began to be built on the river, and it began to flow into the Yellow Sea. One of the military tactics of the warring dynasties was the flooding of the enemy army or its territories. So, in 11 AD, a flood caused the fall of the Xin Dynasty. Also, the hydraulic structures were destroyed in 923 in order to protect the capital of the Liang Dynasty from the attack of the Tang Dynasty. From the second millennium AD, the Yellow River (Yellow River) itself regularly broke through dams. One of the worst floods occurred in 1887, it claimed 2 million lives.
Yellow River Life
The regime of the Yellow River is monsoonal. From July to October, the water rises up to 5 meters in the Great Plain, and in the highlands it can rise up to 20 meters. The river freezes in the middle and lower reaches. In the lower one - up to 3 weeks, on average - for 2 months (January and February). The Yellow River carries out up to 1.9 billion tons of sediment annually. According to this indicator, the river is in the lead among other water arteries of the world. So on the plain in some places the bottom can rise up to 12 meters above the terrain. The Yellow River has hydraulic structures 5 thousand kilometers long, their height at times exceeds 12 meters. During floods, water occupies a width of up to 800 kilometers. The Huang He is navigable mainly on the Great Plain. The length of the navigable channel - 790kilometers. The Yellow River is connected by a canal to the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers.
Nature and attractions of the Yellow River
The Yellow River is very attractive for vegetation and animals. Everyone wants water. For example, only 1542 species of animals live in its delta and 393 species of plants grow. In the middle reaches of the Yellow River, there is the Hukou waterfall, the largest on the river, 20 meters high. It is one of the most interesting and picturesque places on the planet. The usual width of the waterfall is 30 meters, and at the time of the flood of the river it reaches 50. Below Hukou there is a huge rock that divides the stream into two parts. In the mountainous regions of the river there is a national nature reserve - Sanjiangyuan. There are 2 beautiful alpine lakes. It is extremely attractive both for the Chinese themselves and for tourists from abroad. Millions of people from all over the world come here every year.
