The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly spelled Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China after the Yangtze and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of 5,464 kilometers (3,395 mi). Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into the Bohai Sea. The Yellow River basin has an east-west extent of 1900 km (1,180 mi) and a north-south extent of 1100 km (684 mi). Its total basin area is 742,443 km² (290,520 mi²).
The Yellow River is called "the cradle of Chinese civilization" as its basin – specifically, the Wei valley that cuts across the long Ordos loop – was the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilizations and the most prosperous region in early Chinese history. However, frequent devastating floods and course changes produced by the continual elevation of the river bed, sometimes above the level of its surrounding fields has also earned it the unenviable names "China's Sorrow" and "Scourge of the Sons of Han."
Read more about Yellow River: Name, Geography, Characteristics, Hydroelectric Power Dams, Crossings, Pollution, Yellow River in Culture
Other articles related to "yellow river, river, yellow":
... of China, located on the east (left) bank of the Yellow River ... Linfen to the north, and Hancheng in Shaanxi across the Yellow River to the west ... The city's name (河津) literally means "river ford", due to the need of a fording of the Yellow River at the time ...
... occurrences are connected with the mythical Hetu 河圖 "Yellow River chart", which along with the Luoshu 洛書 "Luo River writing Lo Shu Square" are ancient magic square arrangements of ... The Yellow River brought forth a map and the Lo River brought forth a writing the holy men took these as models ... instance, the Baihutong 白虎通 (封禪) says 河出龍圖 "the Yellow River sent forth the dragon chart" while the Liji (禮運, cf ...
... In ancient times, it was believed that the Yellow River flowed from Heaven as a continuation of the Milky Way ... After sailing up-river for many days, he saw a girl spinning and a cow herd ... of Hebei and Henan derive their names from the Yellow River ...
... the cradle of Chinese civilization, the Yellow River Basin was then one of the poorest areas in the country and few of his classmates could ... communities and created many oil paintings revolving around the theme of the Yellow River, which are still among the artist’s most famous works ... Painted in a burst of yellow hues, His Shaanxi paintings often depicted the hard lives of the locals, such as the Yellow River’s taut and tanned ...
... To the west is Shaanxi with the south-flowing part of the Yellow River and the Ordos Region ... is the central valley of Shanxi with the south-flowing Fen River and then the Taihang Mountains and the North China Plain ... At the southern end of the mountains the Fen River swings west to join the Yellow River ...
Famous quotes containing the words river and/or yellow:
“I am advised that there is an unexpended balance of about $45,000 of the fund appropriated for the relief of the sufferers by flood upon the Mississippi River and its tributaries, and I recommend that authority be given to use this fund to meet the most urgent necessities of the poorer people in Oklahoma.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“a star
called Wormwood rose and flickered, shattering
bent light over the dead boiling up in the ground,
the biting yellow their corrupted lives
streaming to war, denying all our words.”
—Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980)