China's Geography and Climate


China is composed of a vast variety of highly different landscapes, with mostly plateaus and mountains in the west, and lower lands on the east.

As a result, principal rivers flow from west to east, including the Yangtze (central), the Huang He (central-east), and the Amur (northeast), and sometimes toward the south (including the Pearl River, Mekong River, and Brahmaputra), with most Chinese rivers emptying into the Pacific.

East Asia - Most of China's arable lands lie along the two major rivers, the Yangtze and the Huang He, and each are the centers around which are founded China's major ancient civilizations.

In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are found extensive and densely populated alluvial plains; the shore of the South China Sea is more mountainous and southern China is dominated by hill country and lower mountain ranges.

To the west, the north has a great alluvial plain, and the south has a vast calcareous tableland traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation, with the Himalayas, containing the highest point Mount Everest.

The northwest also has high plateaus among more arid desert landscapes such as the Takla-Makan and the Gobi Desert, which has been expanding.

Due to a prolonged drought and perhaps poor agricultural practices, dust storms have become usual in the spring in China.

Dust blows all the way to southern China, Taiwan, and has even been measured on the West Coast of the United States.

The Giant Panda is an endangered species native to the bamboo forests of central and southern China.During many dynasties, the southwestern border of China has been the high mountains and deep valleys of Yunnan, which separate modern China from Burma, Laos and Vietnam.

The climate of China varies greatly. The northern zone (within which lies Beijing) has a climate with winters of Arctic severity.

The central zone (within which Shanghai is situated) has a generally temperate climate. The southern zone (within which lies Guangzhou) has a generally subtropical climate.

The Palaeozoic formations of China, excepting only the upper part of the Carboniferous system, are marine, while the Mesozoic and Tertiary deposits are estuarine and freshwater or else of terrestrial origin. Groups of volcanic cones occur in the Great Plain of north China.

In the Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas, there are basaltic plateau.

Reference Wikipedia




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