The Yangtze River is the fourth largest river in the world. It has a length of 3,988 miles initiating its long course from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in China before reaching Shanghai and emptying into the East China Sea.
Sediment studies suggest that the Yangtze River is 1 to 2 million years old.
According to a study made by Xie Xiaoping, in the Yangtze River’s Delta where freshwater meets seawater, sediments from its drainage basin are suspended. The distribution and size variations of the concentration of suspended sediments in this area indicate that the sediments are moved and suspended by riverine characteristics such a river flow, and marine processes such as tides, and waves. Erosion has made it difficult to find the original river courses but it seems that this giant river’s gorges allowed sediments to be eroded and drained into the East China Sea and leaving on its wake sediment in East China’s lowlands. (Our Amazing Planet).
References for Yangtze River
Xiaoping, Xie (unkown). Formation and evolution of wetland and landform in the Yangtze estuary over the pat 50 years based on digitized sea maps and multi-temporal satellite images. School of Geography and Tourism. Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China. Retrieved on 1/12/2012 from: http://www.intechopen.com/source/pdfs/25727/InTech-Formation_and_evolution_of_wetland_and_landform_in_the_yangtze_river_estuary_over_the_past_50_years_based_on_digitized_sea_maps_and_multi_temporal_satellite_images.pdf
Our amazing Planet retrieved on 1/12/2012 from
http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/58-yangtze-rivers-true-age-revealed.html
