Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
and Russia. The Yalu and T Tumen rivers separate China
from North Korea.
IRRIGATED
AGRICULTURE
WELLS
CHINA PROPER
China Proper is dominated by rivers and plains. T To the
north is the Huang He, or Y ellow River. Flowing 3,395
miles from the Qinghai Plateau, it sweeps northward,
wrapping the Ordos Desert in a big loop, then cuts
southward across the loess region of Shaanxi and Shanxi
provinces. Loess, resulting from the last glacial period, is
fine, windblown soil that is readily eroded. At the conflu-
ence of the Wei River, the Huang He turns northeast
across the North China Plain and empties into the Bo Hai
Gulf of the Y ellow Sea.
SOIL
ROCK
STRATA
Figure 10-3
Karez wells are vertical shafts connected to an underground hori-
zontal canal that penetrates an aquifer . The water flows by force
of gravity to a surface location, where it is diverted to homes and
fields. Both vertical and lateral canals must be kept clear of
material that could interrupt the water flow . Both digging and
clearing wells are dangerous ventures.
(Dzungarian) Basin. Just to the east of the Tien Shan is
the T Turpan (T (Turfan) depression. At 505 feet below sea
level (155 m), this is the second lowest place in Asia,
after the Dead Sea. The southern slopes of the Tien Shan
fade into the Tarim Basin, bordered on the west by the
Karakoram and on the south by the Kunlun and Altun
Shan. Within this basin lies the Taklamakan, one of the
world' s largest sand deserts. Its name means: “Y ou can go
in but you can't come out.”
Settlement is possible in desert basins because of
the presence of water. The Junggar and Tarim basins
and the Hexi Corridor are artesian basins with plentiful
water trapped in underground aquifer(water-bearing
rock), especially within alluvial fans at the base of
mountains. With seasonal rainfall, rivers frequently
disappear from the surface and flow underground. The
use of karez see page 186 in Chapter 7) irrigation systems
render mountain-base oases productive (Figures 16-3
and 16-4).
Directly south and southeast of the dry wastes of
the Taklamakan lies the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, with
an average elevation of more than 12,000 feet (4,000 m).
The Qilian Shan separate the swampy Tsaidam
Basin from the steppes of Nei Menggu (Inner Mongo-
lia). These short grasslands fade northward into the
Gobi (desert) of Mongolia. Immediately north of the
Qilian is a narrow strip of land known as the Hexi or
Gansu Corridor, an integral part of China' s famous trade
route known as the Silk Route. T To the northeast are the
Da (Greater) and Xiao (Lesser) Hinggan (Khingan)
mountains, sloping inland to the Manchurian Plain
and the Liao River basin. Northward is the Amur
River, forming the border between China' s northeast
Figure 10-4
Road and water channel in Dunhuang. Poplar trees line this dirt
road. Straight poplar wood is important for construction. Note
the irrigation canal alongside the road. The water comes from a
karez and is fundamental to irrigation in this arid region.
Photograph courtesy of B. A. Weightman.
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