The Yellow River is the abode of an ancient civilization

Yellow River, which in Chinese means "yellow river" - one of the largest rivers in Asia. This name is associated with a huge number of deposits, which give its waters a yellow tint. The sea, into which the river flows, also has a yellowish color and is called Yellow. Its origin starts in the mountains of Tibet, on the eastern slope of the highlands, at an altitude of more than 4 thousand meters. Then the river starts to descend from the mountains, passes through 2 suitable lakes (Jarin-Nur and Orin-Nur) and descends the valley along the spurs of mountain massifs. Here it crosses 2 desert plateaus (Loess and Ordos) and forms a huge bend. Then the river follows through the gorges of the Shanghai mountains and flows to the Great Plain. Here its length is more than 700 kilometers. The mouth of the river is located near the Bay of Bahia. The area of the Yellow River basin is 770,000 square kilometers, and its length is about 5,000 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. The Yellow River is divided into three parts: the lower, middle and upper currents. The first is on the Great Plain of China. The average is between the province of Shaanxi and the Ordos board. The upper one - from the sources in 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 bed is extremely mobile and it often leaves the banks. Floods bring numerous disasters, which served as the birth of the second name of the river - "China's trouble". But reverse phenomena were also observed, for example, in the 90s of the last century, the Yellow River more than once completely dried up in the northern regions.

Floods on the Yellow River

For 3 thousand years, Yellow River more than one and a half thousand times out of the coast and changed its direction 26 times. To protect from flooding on the Yellow River, a lot of dams and diversion canals have been built, which, nevertheless, do not change the situation on the river. Studies of American scientists have shown that the buildings not only do not stop the problem, but even provoke it, since for more than 3 thousand years people have blocked the river with a natural current. Hydraulic structures slow the flow of the river, thereby provoking deposits of sediments on the bottom. As a result, the water rises again, and the force of floods increases from time to time. People are building even more powerful dams and deep diversion canals, but the Yellow River is coming more and more out of the coast. 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 China show that the Yellow River flowed north of its current channel. In 2356 BC , a flood occurred on it, the Yellow River changed its current and began to flow into the Gili Bay. After 2 thousand years on the river began to build offshore canals and dams, and it began to flow into the Yellow Sea. One of the military tactics of warring dynasties was the flooding of enemy troops or its territories. Thus, in 11 AD, the flood caused the fall of the Xin Dynasty. Also, hydraulic structures were destroyed in 923 in order to protect the capital of the Liang Dynasty from the attack of the Tang dynasty. Since the second millennium AD, Yellow River (Yellow River) itself has regularly broken through dams. One of the strongest floods occurred in 1887, it claimed 2 million lives.

Life of the Yellow River

The regime of the Yellow River is monsoon. From July to October, water rises to 5 meters in the Great Plain, and in the highlands can climb up to 20 meters. The river freezes in the middle and lower reaches. In the lower - up to 3 weeks, on average - for 2 months (January and February). The Yellow River annually carries up to 1.9 billion tons of sediment. According to this indicator, the river is leading among other water arteries of the world. So on the plain in some places the bottom can rise up to 12 meters above the surface of the terrain. The Yellow River has hydraulic structures with a length of 5 thousand kilometers, their height sometimes exceeds 12 meters. During floods, water occupies a width of up to 800 kilometers. The shipping of the Yellow River is mainly on the Great Plain. The length of the navigable channel is 790 kilometers. The yellow river is connected by a channel with the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers .

Nature and Attractions of Yellow River

The yellow river is very attractive for vegetation and animals. Everyone is eager for water. For example, only in its delta live 1542 species of animals and grow 393 plant species. In the middle reaches of the Yellow River is the largest waterfall on the river, Hukou, 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, it reaches 50. Below Hukou is a huge rock that divides the stream into two parts. In the mountainous areas of the river there is a national nature reserve - Sanjiangyuan. There are 2 beautiful high mountain lakes. It is extremely attractive both for the Chinese themselves, and for tourists from abroad. Every year millions of people from all over the world come here.