1. The Yellow River or Huang He is the second-longest river in Asia, following
the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of
5,464 km (3,395 mi).[1]
Originating in the Bayan Har
Mountains inQinghai province of western China, it flows through nine provinces,
and it empties into the Bohai Sea near the city
of Dongying in Shandong province. The Yellow River basin has an east–west
extent of about 1,900 kilometers (1,180 mi) and a north–south extent of about
1,100 km (680 mi). Its total basin area is about 742,443 square kilometers
(286,659 sq mi).
The Yellow River is called "the cradle of Chinese civilization", because its basin
was the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilization, and it was the most prosperous
region in early Chinese history. However, frequent devastatingfloods and course
changes produced by the continual elevation of the river bed, sometimes above
the level of its surrounding farm fields, has also earned it the unenviable
names China's Sorrow and Scourge of the Sons of Han.[2]
The Yellow River is one of several rivers that are essential for China's very
existence. At the same time, however, it has been responsible for several deadly
floods, including the only natural disasters in recorded history that have killed
more than a million people. The deadliest was a 1332–33 flood that killed 7
million people. Close behind is the 1887 flood, which killed anywhere from
900,000 to 2 million people, and a 1931 flood (part of a massive number of floods
that year) that killed 1–4 million people.[6]
Early Chinese literature including
the Yu Gong or Tribute of Yu dating to the Warring States period (475 – 221 BC)
refers to the Yellow River as simply 河 (Old Chinese: *C.gˤaj[3]
), a character that
has come to mean "river" in modern usage. The first appearance of the
name 黃河 (Old Chinese: *N-kʷˤaŋ C.gˤaj; Middle Chinese: Hwang Ha[3]
) is in
theBook of Han written during the Western Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 9). The
adjective "yellow" describes the perennial color of the muddy water in the lower
course of the river, which arises from soil (loess) being carried downstream.
![The Yellow River or Huang He is the second-longest river in Asia, following
the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of
5,464 km (3,395 mi).[1]
Originating in the Bayan Har
Mountains inQinghai province of western China, it flows through nine provinces,
and it empties into the Bohai Sea near the city
of Dongying in Shandong province. The Yellow River basin has an east–west
extent of about 1,900 kilometers (1,180 mi) and a north–south extent of about
1,100 km (680 mi). Its total basin area is about 742,443 square kilometers
(286,659 sq mi).
The Yellow River is called "the cradle of Chinese civilization", because its basin
was the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilization, and it was the most prosperous
region in early Chinese history. However, frequent devastatingfloods and course
changes produced by the continual elevation of the river bed, sometimes above
the level of its surrounding farm fields, has also earned it the unenviable
names China's Sorrow and Scourge of the Sons of Han.[2]
The Yellow River is one of several rivers that are essential for China's very
existence. At the same time, however, it has been responsible for several deadly
floods, including the only natural disasters in recorded history that have killed
more than a million people. The deadliest was a 1332–33 flood that killed 7
million people. Close behind is the 1887 flood, which killed anywhere from
900,000 to 2 million people, and a 1931 flood (part of a massive number of floods
that year) that killed 1–4 million people.[6]
Early Chinese literature including
the Yu Gong or Tribute of Yu dating to the Warring States period (475 – 221 BC)
refers to the Yellow River as simply 河 (Old Chinese: *C.gˤaj[3]
), a character that
has come to mean "river" in modern usage. The first appearance of the
name 黃河 (Old Chinese: *N-kʷˤaŋ C.gˤaj; Middle Chinese: Hwang Ha[3]
) is in
theBook of Han written during the Western Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 9). The
adjective "yellow" describes the perennial color of the muddy water in the lower
course of the river, which arises from soil (loess) being carried downstream.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/the-140630073514-phpapp01/85/The-1-320.jpg)
