China National Geographic - (Pocket Library) - (Youth Edition)

Author: Writing Group of This Book
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The topography of China is highly complex, with a significant proportion of its area covered by mountains and plateaus. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as the "Roof of the World," dominates the western region, with numerous famous mountain ranges rising from its surface. Located on the China-Nepal border, Mount Everest stands at an altitude of 8,844.43 meters, making it the world's highest peak. The northwest of China is a arid region characterized by alternating high mountains and vast basins, featuring the Turpan Basin, which lies below sea level, and the Taklamakan Desert, one of the world's largest deserts. The eastern part of China is home to a vast alluvial plain, scattered with many medium and low mountains and hills. The mountainous areas at different elevations exhibit distinct vertical belt structures, further enhancing the complexity and diversity of China's natural conditions. Particularly, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with an elevation above 4,500 meters and nearly one-fourth of the country's total area, significantly disrupts the usual horizontal zonal structure, giving China's natural geographical distribution a uniqueness rarely seen worldwide.
Topographic Profile The basic types of topography in China, classified by morphology, include five major categories: mountains, plateaus, hills, basins, and plains. Ultra-high mountains, with elevations exceeding 5,000 meters, are covered with permanent snow and feature modern glaciers. High mountains between 3,500 and 5,000 meters in elevation generally lack permanent snow and glaciers but are subject to intense frost weathering, with landforms shaped by ancient glacial activity. Medium mountains, with elevations below 1,000 meters, are significantly affected by weathering under China's temperate and humid eastern climate. Under strong fluvial erosion, river valleys widen, slopes become gentler, and the terrain becomes fragmented, with structural trends of the mountain bodies becoming less apparent. Hills have relatively gentle relief, with elevations generally not exceeding 200 meters. The amplitude of vertical zonal belts varies across different regions in China. In the northwest, the arid erosion belt of high mountains can extend above 3,000 meters; in the northeast, periglacial weathering begins at around 2,000 meters in the Daxing'anling Mountains; and in the southwest, chemical weathering is particularly intense, reaching altitudes of 2,500 meters or even 3,000 meters.
Four Major Basins The four major basins are primarily distributed on the second step of the terrain, and their characteristics differ due to their varying locations. P9