Yangtze Delta
The Yangtze River is the longest river in China and Asia and also is the third-longest river in the world. The total length of the Yangtze reaches to 6,300 km (Zhu et al. 2006). Yangtze River is originated in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau's main-peak of Tanggula Mountain-the Ladan East Snow Mountain (Zhu et al. 2006), then flows from Shanghai to the East China Sea. The Yangtze flows from west to east with an irregular course covers 9 provinces in China: Qinghai province, Tibet province, Sichuan province, Yunnan province, Hubei province, Hunan province, Jiangxi province, Anhui province, and Jiangsu province. The Yangtze has a large population, population up to 480 million.
The river enters the East China Sea where the basin drains an area of approximately 700,000 mi2 (1,800,000 km2). The discharge carries a load of silt that is estimated to be about 22,000 m3/s at the river’s mouth. Although subsidence is taking place in the delta, deposition is occurring at a more rapid rate.
Yangtze River delta is called the largest economic circle and economic center of China, an important international gateway to the Asia-Pacific region, and a global manufacturing center. Meanwhile, many cities concentrated in Yangtze River delta, total city area reached to 35.9 ten thousand square kilometers, hence Yangtze River Delta is the largest urban agglomeration in the six world-class urban agglomerations. As rapid developed in Yangtze Delta, urbanization, industrialization and lots of anthropogenic activities in Yangtze River delta caused natural resources are overexploited and serious environmental pollution. Meanwhile, climate change accelerates the melting of glaciers, seawater intrusion, changes in precipitation distribution, and subsidence, etc. Therefore, improving the Yangtze River Delta resilience is very important.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey
General characteristics
- Continent: Asia
- Location: 31°44’N, 121°52’E
- Basin of deposition: East China Sea
- Delta area (km2): 66669
- Number of river mouths: 3
- Spring Tide (m): 3.66
- Major Cities: Shanghai
- Basin area (10^3 km2): 1354.2
- River length (km): 3807
- Average rainfall (mm/y) : 1190
- Maximum rainfall (mm/y) : 1917
- Minimum rainfall (mm/y): 572
- Annual average discharge (m3/s): 2511
- Maximum discharge (m3/s): 473
- Minimum discharge (m3/s): 9261