Moreover, rainfall in the area is generally insufficient to support the growth of trees and plants even after their plantation; grazing by animals worsens the situation. Silt retention dams and structures in the silt-carrying gullies and valleys have proven more effective and thousands of dams have been built. As these dams are gradually filled up, the dam heights have to be raised. Such high retention dams, however, are a double-edged sword. Heavy once-in-a-century rains or powerful earthquakes could cause dams to break and initiate catastrophic landslides that would create even bigger floods that would do immense damage. Similarly, the Chinese have managed to control floods in the river by periodically raising the levees and the dykes but the unrelenting silt build-up in the riverbed is continuing and another 100-year return flood like that of 1761 or 1843 could still prove catastrophic. Hence more resources and research are required to be deployed by the Chinese government and the international community to find a more effective engineering solution for the problem of silting. (Chengrui and Dregne, 15-17)
The use of water from the Yellow River for irrigation and industrial purposes also needs to be controlled as a lot of water is wasted due to out-dated, wasteful practices and under-pricing of water. Better irrigation practices such as lining of canals to prevent seepage, better land leveling, and appropriate water pricing could help in more optimum use of water.
Conclusion
As we saw in this paper, the Yellow River has been a cradle of Chinese civilization, has supported millions of people who have lived alongside it, but has periodically caused an equal amount of sorrow through devastating floods and course changes throughout history. Currently, the river is faced with decreased flows due to overexploitation,
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Liang, Qiuhua. "Yellow River -- China's Sorrow" March, 20, 2002. October 7, 2006. http://users.ox.ac.uk/~wolf1016/yellow_river_flooding.htm
New research could provide overdue solutions for saving China's imperiled Yellow River." Press Release by International Water Management Institute. October 21, 2003. October 7, 2006. http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/press/yellow_river.htm
Thirsty China to divert the mighty Yangtze." CNN.com November 15, 2001. October 7, 2006. http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/11/15/china.water/index.html
Yellow River." From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2006. October 7, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huang_He
The Yellow River is 5464 km long; it originates in the Bayankala Mountains of the Qinghai province in Western China and flows through nine Chinese provinces into the Bohai Sea.
The Colorado River in the U.S.A. is the second most silt-laden river in the world with 28 kg / cubic m of silt
Erling Hoh, quoting from the book, "China's Water Crisis," states that Ningxia diverts over 10 billion cubic yards of water from the river annually as against its allotted quota of 5.2 billion cubic yards.
In the Yinchuan Plain, 43 per cent of the irrigated land is saline and approximately 16 per cent of the North China Plain's irrigated land is salt-affected.
Apart from the Yellow River, the scheme would divert water from the Yangtze to Rivers Huai and Hai as well.
Yellow River
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Another consequence of the exploitative use of water resources is the destruction of mangrove forests and the fragmentation of the habitats of endangered species. The United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna listed 189 endangered species in China among the 740 in the world. Sand content is quite high in the Yellow River. In the dry season, sand rises and flies up with the
Yellow River Pollution A report published by Terra Daily (2006) reports that the famous Yellow River of China "is becoming more polluted, with water flow dropping despite billions of tons of waste being pumped into it…" The largest part of the discharge is reported to be coming from factories in China and the discharge increased "by 88 million tons from 2004, and more than 66% of the water in the river
Babylon and Yellow River Valley Civilizations Compare and Contrast Political Religious and Social Aspects The history of the ancient world is mainly the history of the five great civilizations: Egypt, Babylon, China, Greece and Rome. These civilizations made a great contribution to the world culture as they set the basis for social development of the modern world. In this paper I would like to discuss political and social aspects of the
China is still regarded as a developing country, its rapid growth has put it in a position to compete with the top players in the world economy. With the advancement of technology and globalization, for example, China has been able to communicate and do business around the globe. This has enabled the country and its people to benefit from prosperous partnerships. Although China has advanced to a top position in
China and the Mongol Conquest China and Mongol Conquest The 13th century saw the influence of the Mongol Empire which Genghis Khan established stretching from the borders of Poland in the west to the East around Yellow Sea. Grandson of Genghis named Kublai Khan was the ruler of this empire in 1260 after which he went a head to consolidate his power when he relinquish the Mongol conquests outside China and established
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