Transcript The Geography of China

The Geography of China
Chapter 7
The Himalayas
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The Himalayas separate the Indian
subcontinent from the rest of Asia
Within those mountains is a huge plateau, or
raised plain that forms most of Tibet
This plateau sits higher than most
mountaintops in the U.S.
The Indus and many of Asia’s largest rivers
begin on this plateau.
“Whoever controls the Huang River
controls China.”
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According to Chinese tradition a powerful
ruler spoke these words almost 4,000 years
ago.
The Huang River
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The River starts its 3,000 mile long trip in Northern
China
The Huang starts as a clear stream but grows and
picks up silt along its winding journey.
During summer floods the Huang spreads silt on
the North China Plain to create one of the largest
deltas.
The river also creates miles of fertile marshland
Farming along the Huang
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About 4000B.C. farming communities
developed along the lower part of the
Huang River.
China’s oldest civilization grew from these
farming communities
This civilization later spread to include many
regions and groups of people.
The Huang River Valley
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The Huang makes a giant curve around the
edge of the Ordos Desert
As is turns, the Huang cuts through a hilly
region
The hills are made almost entirely of loess (a
dusty, yellow soil that is deposited by in this
region by wind)
Working with the Huang River
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During Summer rains, huge amounts of loess are
washed into the Huang River causing it to be the
World’s muddiest river.
The Loess soil is both a blessing and a curse to
farmers because while it provides fertile soil, its
lightness makes it easy for storms to carry that kind
of soil away.
The river floods are both helpful and harmful to
Chinese farmers because they bring loess but can
also wash it away and destroy everything in their
path.
Controlling the River
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About 3,000 years ago, farmers began
building levees to hold back the Huang (a
wall that keeps a river within its bank)
Like the Sumerians, ancient Chinese farmers
also built canals to bring water to their fields.
Loess clogged the canals and had to be
cleared away.
Growing Crops
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Farmers grew many kinds of plants
Farmers grew rice, millet (a type of grain), wheat,
green onion, and ginger
They harvested grapes, peaches, plums, and wild
chestnuts
RICE
MILLET
GINGER
CHESTNUTS
More Farming…
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Farmers were successful, and the population grew
More farmable land was needed to feed people so
farmers had to clear trees from rich loess-lands to
plant crops
One result was erosion (wearing away of soil by
wind or water. Erosion of fertile soil sometimes
makes it difficult for farmers to grow successful
crops
If too much soil washes away, and crops fail, a
famine (little food and starvation) may happen
Other regions of Ancient China
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To the North of The Huang Valley are
windswept steppes. (a dry, treeless plain)
People in this area do not plant crops. They
herd sheep on horseback
People ate more meat in this area instead of
grains.
China’s Sorrow
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The Huang River is called China’s Sorrow because
it has cost millions of lives throughout China’s
history.
Famine as much as drowning has also been a
cause of these deaths. When it washes away
crops, it leaves people with nothing to eat
Chinese generals also used the power of the river
as a deadly weapon. One general blew up a levee
during flood season to stop the Japanese army. His
plan worked- but it also took the lives of one million
farmers and more died during the famine.