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Natural Environment
China
has a varied topography, with mountainous areas, plateaux and hilly
areas occupying 2/3 of the total land. The terrain of China slopes
from west to east, forming a flight of three steps. The first step
consists of the Qinghai-Xizang(Tibet) Plateau with an elevation
of over 4000metres above sea level, where stand Mts. Kunlun,Mts.
Tanggula, Mts. Gangdise,Mts. Nyainqentanglha,Mts. Karakorum. The
second step includes the Yun-Gui Plateau, the Loess Plateau, Inner Mongolia Plateau, Tarim Basin, Jungar Basin and Sichuan Basin. The
third step refers the vast area east of the Great Hinggan Ridge-Mt.Taihang-Mt.Wushan-Mt.
Xuefeng, mainly consisting of the Main Three Plains and the hilly
land including the Nanling Ridge, Great Hinggan Ridge, Changbai
Mountain and Mt. Taiwan. Along the coast, there exist about 6000
islands, among which Taiwan Island is the largest.
China
possesses numerous rivers and most of famous rivers rise in the
Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The Changjiang(Yangtze) River,Huanghe River,together
with the Lancang River, Zhujiang River, Huaihe River,Haihe River,Liaohe
River and Heilongjiang River,belong to the Pacific river system,
and the Nujiang River, Yarlung Zangbo River flow into the Indean
Ocean, the Ertix River runs northward into the Arctic Ocean. The
Grand Canal is the longest canal in the world, while the Tarim River
is the longest continental river.
There
exist more than 2800 lakes with a surface of over 1 km2. Most of
the freshwater lakes amass in the middle and lower reaches of the
Changjiang(Yangtze) River. Numerous salt lakes lie on the Qinghai-Xizang
Plateau, of which Qinghai Lake is the largest and Nam Co is a lake
with the highest elevation in the world.
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