The almighty force generated by China’s Yellow River during the rainy season causes this stepped section, known as Hukou waterfall, to transform into a raging cascade.
Normally, residents in China’s Shanxi Province prepare for the anticipated devastation caused by the flood water from late June/early July. And the high water level remains fast-flowing and turbulent until October.
This year, however, the floods have arrived early, as these dramatic pictures taken yesterday illustrate.
Normally, residents in China’s Shanxi Province prepare for the anticipated devastation caused by the flood water from late June/early July around Hukou Waterfall, Linfen, Shanxi Province
This year, however, the floods have arrived early, as these dramatic pictures of Hukou Waterfall, taken yesterday illustrate
At its maximum, the river’s average
discharge is said to be 25,000 cubic meters per second. From the sheer
ferocity of the water in these shots, it’s almost impossible to imagine
that further along, the river often runs dry before it reaches the sea.
The low volume is due to increased
agricultural irrigation and since 1999 the water has been diverted from
the river to serve more than 140 million people and irrigate 48,572
square miles of land.
The high water levels will come as
some relief to many regions that border the river’s path, however, since
millions of people have been suffering from a drought in many parts of
the eastern country.
At its maximum, the river’s average discharge is said to be 25,000 cubic meters per second. From the sheer ferocity of the water in these shots, it’s almost impossible to imagine that further along, the river often runs dry before it reaches the sea
The high water levels will come as some relief to many regions that border the river’s path, however, since millions of people have been suffering from a drought in many parts of the eastern country
The Yellow River originates in the
Bayan Har Mountains and the Anemaqen Mountains and empties into the
Bohai Sea drain into the Hai River.
It is also difficult to imagine from
these pictures that at the early sections of the river the water runs
crystal clear, flowing steadily and forming mirror-like lakes, including
Lake Zhaling and Lake Eling, at the foot of the mountains.
Subsequently, the Mongolian name for the river in this section is the Black River.
However, further downstream, the
epithet ‘Yellow’ River earns its name, as it collects rich silt
containing golden-coloured minerals.
The high water levels transform the Hukou waterfall in the rainy season, as these pictures taken in the dry season, illustrate
By the time the water reaches the
Hukou waterfall, Linfen, Shanxi Province (pictured), the water has
collected tonnes of fine-grained loess, a mineral-rich silt that has
been deposited on the land having been carried in the wind.
The tiny particles, carried by the
river from the Loess Plateau, are continuously deposited along the
bottom of its channel, causing natural dams to slowly accrue.
These subaqueous dams, which are
unpredictable and generally undetectable, eventually burst releasing
enormous rushes of water which course along new flood planes to the sea.
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