NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Geography of the People's Republic of China

China stretches some 5,000 kilometers across the East Asian landmass in an eratically changing configuration of broad plains, expansive deserts, and lofty mountain ranges, including vast areas of inhospitable terrain. The eastern half of the country, its seacoast fringed with offshore islands, is a region of fertile lowlands, foothills and mountains, desert, steppes, and subtropical areas. The western half of China is a region of sunken basins, rolling plateaus, and towering massifs, including a portion of the highest tableland on earth. East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands or separated from other mountain ranges by passes or rivers. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (Russian: - step, Ukrainian: - step, Kazakh: - dala), pronounced in English as step, is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being... Subtropical (or semitropical) areas are those adjacent to the tropics, usually roughly defined as the ranges 23. ... A drainage basin is the area within the drainage basin divide (yellow outline), and drains the surface runoff and river discharge (blue lines) of a contiguous area. ... Monte Roraima In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat open country. ... In geology, a massif is a section of the Earths crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. ...

The vastness of the country and the barrenness of the western hinterland have important implications for defense strategy. In spite of many good harbors along the approximately 18,000-kilometer coastline, the nation has traditionally oriented itself not toward the sea but inland, developing as an imperial power whose center lay in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River on the northern plains. The Yellow River (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hwang-ho, sometimes simply called the River in ancient Chinese) is the second longest river in China (after Yangtze River) and the fifth in the world. ...

China also has the Tibet Plateau towards the south. The Tibet Plateau is a very large plateau with very high altitudes. To the north of the Tibet Plateau lies the Gobi Desert, one of the world's largest and hottest^{[citation needed]} deserts, which stretches mostly into Mongolia.

Location

Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam. Download high resolution version (1228x1224, 490 KB) CIA World Factbook PDF. Screen-captured @ 1280 x 1024 See also: Image:Map of China (physical) (small). ... Download high resolution version (1228x1224, 490 KB) CIA World Factbook PDF. Screen-captured @ 1280 x 1024 See also: Image:Map of China (physical) (small). ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... The East China Sea is a marginal sea and part of the Pacific Ocean. ... The Korea Bay is located at the north of the Yellow Sea, between Liaoning Province of China and North Pyŏngan Province of North Korea. ... ... The South China Sea, showing surrounding countries and neighbouring seas and oceans The South China Sea is a marginal sea south of China. ...

Border countries

Area

China is the world's third- or fourth-largest country in total area (after Russia, Canada, and the United States), and is the second largest country by land area.

Figures for the size of China differ slightly depending on where one draws a number of ill-defined boundaries. The official figure by the People's Republic of China is 9.6 million square kilometers, making the country slightly smaller than Canada, and somewhat larger than the United States. The Republic of China based in Taiwan puts this figure at 11 million square kilometers, accounting for outer Mongolia. China's contour is reasonably comparable to that of the United States and lies largely at the same latitudes. Motto: None Anthem(s): National Anthem of the Republic of China Capital Taipei City (de facto) Nanjing (de jure)1 Largest city Taipei City Official language(s) Mandarin (GuÃ³yÇ”) Government Semi-presidential system - President Chen Shui-bian - Vice President Annette Lu - Premier Su Tseng-chang Establishment Xinhai Revolution - Declared... Outer Mongolia makes up Mongolia (presently a sovereign state) and Tannu Uriankhai (the majority of which is the modern-day Tuva Republic, a federal subject of the Russian Federation), while Inner Mongolia (å†…è’™å¤; NÃ¨i MÄ›nggÇ”) is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Terrain and drainage

From the Tibetan Plateau, other less-elevated highlands, rugged east-west trending mountains, and plateaus interrupted by deep depressions fan out to the north and east. A continental scarp marks the eastern margin of this territory, a scarp that extends from the Greater Khingan Range in northeastern China, through the Taihang Mountains (a range of mountains overlooking the North China Plain) to the eastern edge of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the south. Virtually all of the low-lying areas of China, which support dense population and intensive cultivation, are to the east of this scarp line. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x733, 1391 KB) The Geography of China The map was drawn by Alan Mak based on a world map in Wikimedia Commons. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x733, 1391 KB) The Geography of China The map was drawn by Alan Mak based on a world map in Wikimedia Commons. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x958, 226 KB) NASA World Wind screenshot. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x958, 226 KB) NASA World Wind screenshot. ... Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and Sichuan Province of China lie on the Tibetan Plateau. ... In geology, an escarpment is a transition zone between different physiogeographic provinces that involves an elevation differential, often involving high cliffs. ... The Greater Khingan Range (Chinese Simplified: å¤§å…´å®‰å² Traditional: å¤§èˆˆå®‰å¶º), also called the Greater Hingan Range or Greater Hinggan Range, is a volcanic mountain range in Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. ... The Taihang Mountains (å¤ªè¡Œå±±) are a mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau. ... The North China Plain (Chinese: åŽåŒ—å¹³åŽŸ; Pinyin: HuÃ¡bÄ›i PÃngyuÃ¡n), also called the Central Plain (Chinese: ä¸åŽŸ; Pinyin: ZhÅngyuÃ¡n), is based on the deposits of the Huang He (Yellow River) and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. ...

The east-west ranges include some of Asia's greatest mountains. In addition to the Himalayas and the Kunlun Mountains, there are the Kailash (Gangdise) and the Tian Shan ranges. The latter stands between two great basins, the massive Tarim Basin to the south and the Dzungarian Basin to the north. Rich deposits of coal, oil, and metallic ores lie in the Tian Shan area. The largest inland basin in China, the Tarim Basin measures 1,500 kilometres from east to west and 600 kilometres from north to south at its widest parts. Perspective view of the Himalayas and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... Region containing Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun mountain range (崑崙山) is one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3000 km. ... Mount Kailash (officially: KangrinboqÃª; Tibetan: Gang Rinpoche, à½‚à½„à½¦à¼‹à½¢à½²à½“à¼‹à½”à½¼à½…à½§à½ºà¼‹; Wylie: Gangs Rin-po-che; ZWPY: KangrinboqÃª; Simplified Chinese: å†ˆä»æ³¢é½å³°; Traditional Chinese: å²¡ä»æ³¢é½Šå³°; pinyin: GÄngrÃ©nbÅqÃ FÄ“ng; Hindi à¤•à¥ˆà¤²à¤¾à¤¶ à¤ªà¤°à¥à¤µà¤¤, KailÄÅ›Ä Parvata) is a peak in the GangdisÃª mountains, the source of some of the longest rivers in Asiaâ€”the Indus River, the Sutlej... The Tian Shan (Chinese: 天山; Pinyin: Tiān Shān; celestial mountains) mountain range is located in Central Asia, in the border region of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of western China. ... Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin. ... Dzungaria (also Junggar, Jungaria, Sungaria, Zungaria) is a physical region, covering approximately 777,000 km², within the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in northwestern China. ...

The Himalayas form a natural boundary on the southwest as the Altai Mountains do on the northwest. Lesser ranges branch out, some at sharp angles from the major ranges. The mountains give rise to all the principal rivers. For the republic in Russia, see Altai Republic. ...

The spine of the Kunlun Mountains separates into several branches as it runs eastward from the Pamir Mountains. The northernmost branches, the Altyn-Tagh and the Qilian Range, form the rim of the Tibetan Plateau in west-central China and overlook the Qaidam Basin, a sandy and swampy region containing many salt lakes. A southern branch of the Kunlun Mountains divides the watersheds of the Yellow River (Huang He) and the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). The Gansu Corridor, west of the great bend in the Yellow River, was traditionally an important communications link with Central Asia. A photograph of Ismail Samani Peak (then known as Peak Communism) taken in 1989. ... Altyn-Tagh, or Astyn-Tagh (Chinese: é˜¿å°”é‡‘å±±), also called Altun Shan, is one of the chief constituent ranges of the Kunlun in Central Asia, which separates Tibet from Xinjiang and the Gobi Desert. ... The Qilian mountain range is located in the south of the Gansu area of western China. ... Qaidam, also spelt Tsaidam, is an arid basin in Qinghai, western China. ... The Yellow River (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hwang-ho, sometimes simply called the River in ancient Chinese) is the second longest river in China (after Yangtze River) and the fifth in the world. ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ...

North of the 3,300-kilometre-long Great Wall, between Gansu Province on the west and the Greater Khingan Range on the east, lies the Mongolian Plateau, at an average elevation of 1,000 metres above sea level. The Yin Mountains, a system of mountains with average elevations of 1,400 metres, extends east-west through the center of this vast desert steppe peneplain. To the south is the largest loess plateau in the world, covering 600,000 square kilometers in Shaanxi Province, parts of Gansu and Shanxi provinces, and some of Ningxia-Hui Autonomous Region. Loess is a yellowish soil blown in from the Inner Mongolian deserts. The loose, loamy material travels easily in the wind, and through the centuries it has veneered the plateau and choked the Yellow River with silt. Gansu (Simplified Chinese: ç”˜è‚ƒ; Traditional Chinese: ç”˜è‚…; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, or Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Mongolian Plateau is part of the larger Central Asian Plateau and has an area of approximately 2,600,000 square kilometres. ... The Yin Mountains (Yin Shan or Yinshan) are mountains in the Eastern Gobi Desert steppe of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China. ... The Loess Plateau is a plateau that covers an area of some 640,000 kmÂ² in the upper and middle parts of Chinas Yellow River. ... Shaanxi (Simplified Chinese: é™•è¥¿; Traditional Chinese: é™è¥¿; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Shensi, pronounced like Shahn-shee) is a north-central province of the Peoples Republic of China, and includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River as well as the Qinling... Ningxia (Simplified Chinese: 宁夏; Traditional Chinese: 寧夏; pinyin: N ngxi ; Wade-Giles: Ning-hsia) is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China, located on the northwest loess highland, the Yellow River flows through a vast area of its land. ...

Because the river level drops precipitously toward the North China Plain, where it continues a sluggish course across the delta, it transports a heavy load of sand and mud from the upper reaches, much of which is deposited on the flat plain. The flow is channelled mainly by constantly repaired manmade embankments; as a result the river flows on a raised ridge fifty metres or more above the plain, and waterlogging, floods, and course changes have recurred over the centuries. Traditionally, rulers were judged by their concern for or indifference to preservation of the embankments.

Flowing from its source in the Tibetan highlands, the Yellow River courses toward the sea through the North China Plain, the historic centre of Chinese expansion and influence. Ethnic Chinese people have farmed the rich alluvial soils of the plain since ancient times, constructing the Grand Canal of China for north-south transport. The plain itself is actually a continuation of the Manchurian Plain to the northeast but is separated from it by the Bohai Gulf, an extension of the Yellow Sea. The North China Plain (Chinese: åŽåŒ—å¹³åŽŸ; Pinyin: HuÃ¡bÄ›i PÃngyuÃ¡n), also called the Central Plain (Chinese: ä¸åŽŸ; Pinyin: ZhÅngyuÃ¡n), is based on the deposits of the Huang He (Yellow River) and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. ... Han Chinese (Simplified Chinese: æ±‰æ—; Traditional Chinese: æ¼¢æ—; Pinyin: hÃ nzÃº) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. ... Alluvium is soil land deposited by a river or other running water. ... The Grand Canal (Simplified Chinese: å¤§è¿æ²³; Traditional Chinese: å¤§é‹æ²³; Pinyin: DÃ YÃ¹nhÃ©) of China, also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (Simplified Chinese: äº¬æå¤§è¿æ²³; Traditional Chinese: äº¬æå¤§é‹æ²³; Pinyin: JÄ«ng HÃ¡ng DÃ YÃ¹nhÃ©) is the largest ancient canal or artificial river in the world. ... Approximate extent Northeast China (Simplified Chinese: 东北; Traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi; literally east-north), historically known as Manchuria, is the name of a region (ca. ... Bo Hai (Chinese: 渤海; pinyin: B hăi; Wade-Giles: Po-hai lit. ... ...

Like other densely populated areas of China, the plain is subject not only to floods but to earthquakes. For example, the mining and industrial centre of Tangshan, about 165 kilometres east of Beijing, was levelled by an earthquake in July 1976 that reportedly also killed 242,000 people and injured 164,000. Tangshan (Chinese: å”å±±å¸‚; Pinyin: TÃ¡ngshÄn shÃ¬) is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Beijing [English Pronunciation] (Chinese: åŒ—äº¬ [Chinese Pronunciation]; Pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ), a city in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

The Qinling mountain range, a continuation of the Kunlun Mountains, divides the North China Plain from the Yangtze River Delta and is the major physiographic boundary between the two great parts of China Proper. It is in a sense a cultural boundary as well, influencing the distribution of custom and language. South of the Qinling divide are the densely populated and highly developed areas of the lower and middle plains of the Yangtze and, on its upper reaches, the Sichuan Basin, an area encircled by a high barrier of mountain ranges. The Qinling Mountains are a major mountain range in central China. ... Yangtze River Delta The Yangtze River Delta (Chinese é•¿æ±Ÿä¸‰è§’æ´²/é•·æ±Ÿä¸‰è§’æ´² chÃ¡ngjiÄng sÄnjiÇŽozhÅu) or Yangtze Delta, generally comprises the triangular-shaped territory of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu province and northern Zhejiang province. ... China proper refers to the historical heartlands of China in the context of that paradigm which contrasts these heartlands with frontier regions of Outer China (including sections of Inner Asia and other regions). ... The Sichuan Basin is a basin in middle eastern China. ...

The country's longest and most important waterway, the Yangtze River is navigable over much of its length and is now the site of the Three Gorges Dam. Rising on the Tibetan Plateau, the Yangtze River traverses 6,300 kilometres through the heart of the country, draining an area of 1.8 million square kilometres before emptying into the East China Sea. The Sichuan Basin, favoured by a mild, humid climate and a long growing season, produces a rich variety of crops; it is also a leading silk-producing area and an important industrial region with substantial mineral resources. Three Gorges Dam construction site, downstream side, 26 July 2004 Three Gorges Dam, upstream side, 26 July 2004 Ship locks for river traffic to bypass the Three Gorges Dam, May 2004 The Three Gorges Dam spans the Yangtze River at Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei province, China. ... The East China Sea is a marginal sea and part of the Pacific Ocean. ...

Second only to the Qinling as an internal boundary is the Nanling, the southernmost of the east-west mountain ranges. The Nanling overlooks the part of China where a tropical climate permits two crops of rice to be grown each year. Southeast of the mountains lies a coastal, hilly region of small deltas and narrow valley plains; the drainage area of the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) and its associated network of rivers occupies much of the region to the south. West of the Nanling, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau rises in two steps, averaging 1,200 and 1,800 metres in elevation, respectively, toward the precipitous mountain regions of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. The Qinling Mountains are a major mountain range in central China. ... The Nanling (simplified characters: å—å², traditional characters å—å¶º) are a group of mountain ranges of southern China, running through Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangdong province, and Hunan province. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... Pearl River in Guangzhou Pearl River at night, Guangzhou The Zhu Jiang, (ç æ±Ÿ Pinyin: ZhÅ« JiÄng), or Pearl River, is Chinas third longest river (2,200 km, after the Yangtze River and the Yellow River), and second largest by volume (after the Yangtze). ...

The Hai River, like the Pearl and other major waterways, flows from west to east. Its upper course consists of five rivers that converge near Tianjin, then flow seventy kilometers before emptying into the Bohai Gulf. Another major river, the Huai, rises in Henan Province and flows through several lakes before joining the Yangtze near Yangzhou. Categories: China geography stubs | Chinese rivers ... (Chinese: ; pinyin: TiÄnjÄ«n; Postal System Pinyin: Tientsin) is one of the four municipalities of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Bo Hai (Chinese: 渤海; pinyin: B hăi; Wade-Giles: Po-hai lit. ... Huai He The Huai River (Chinese: 淮河; pinyin: ) is about mid-way between the Yellow River (Huang He) and the Yangtze River. ... Henan (Chinese: æ²³å—; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. ... Yangzhou (Simplified Chinese: æ‰¬å·ž; Traditional Chinese: æšå·ž; Pinyin: YÃ¡ngzhÅu; former spellings: Yang-chou, Yangchow; literally Rising Prefecture) is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province, Peoples Republic of China. ...

Inland drainage involving a number of upland basins in the north and northeast accounts for about 40 percent of the country's total drainage area. Many rivers and streams flow into lakes or diminish in the desert. Some are useful for irrigation.

China's extensive territorial waters are principally marginal seas of the western Pacific Ocean; these waters wash the shores of a long and much-indented coastline and approximately 5,000 islands. The Yellow, East China, and South China seas, too, are marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean. More than half the coastline (predominantly in the south) is rocky; most of the remainder is sandy. Hangzhou Bay roughly divides the two kinds of shoreline. The Hangzhou Bay is an inlet of the East China Sea, bordered by the province of Zhejiang and the municipality of Shanghai. ...

Climate

The climate of China is extremely diverse; tropical in the south to subarctic in the north. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (900x794, 367 KB) Summary The map for the average annual precipitation of China Drawn by Alan Mak in March, 2006. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (900x794, 367 KB) Summary The map for the average annual precipitation of China Drawn by Alan Mak in March, 2006. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... The subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Canada and Siberia, the north of Scandinavia, northern Mongolia and the extreme north of Heilongjiang. ...

Monsoon winds, caused by differences in the heat-absorbing capacity of the continent and the ocean, dominate the climate. Alternating seasonal air-mass movements and accompanying winds are moist in summer and dry in winter. The advance and retreat of the monsoons account in large degree for the timing of the rainy season and the amount of rainfall throughout the country. Tremendous differences in latitude, longitude, and altitude give rise to sharp variations in precipitation and temperature within China. Although most of the country lies in the temperate belt, its climatic patterns are complex. Monsoon in the Vindhya mountain range, central India A monsoon is a wind pattern that reverses direction with the seasons. ... In meteorology, precipitation is any kind of water that falls from the sky as part of the weather. ...

China's northernmost point lies along the Heilong Jiang in Heilongjiang Province in the cold-temperate zone; its southernmost point, Hainan Island, has a tropical climate. Temperature differences in winter are great, but in summer the diversity is considerably less. For example, the northern portions of Heilongjiang Province experience an average January mean temperature of below 0°C, and the reading may drop to minus 30°C; the average July mean in the same area may exceed 20 °C. By contrast, the central and southern parts of Guangdong Province experience an average January temperature of above 10 °C, while the July mean is about 28 °C. Heilongjiang (Simplified Chinese: é»‘é¾™æ±Ÿçœ; Traditional Chinese: é»‘é¾æ±Ÿçœ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Postal System Pinyin: Heilungkiang) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. ... Not to be confused with the unrelated provinces of Henan and Hunan Hainan (海南; pinyin: Hǎinán) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located at the southern end of the country. ...

Precipitation varies regionally even more than temperature. China south of the Qinling mountains experiences abundant rainfall, most of it coming with the summer monsoons. To the north and west of the range, however, rainfall is uncertain. The farther north and west one moves, the scantier and more uncertain it becomes. The northwest has the lowest annual rainfall in the country and no precipitation at all in its desert areas.

Natural resources

Coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminium, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest) Coal Coal (IPA: ) is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (surface mining). ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Ignacy Åukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... Natural gas is commonly referred to as gas. ... General Name, Symbol, Number mercury, Hg, 80 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 6, d Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 200. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tin, Sn, 50 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous gray Atomic mass 118. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tungsten, W, 74 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 6, 6, d Appearance grayish white, lustrous Atomic mass 183. ... General Name, Symbol, Number antimony, Sb, 51 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 15, 5, p Appearance silvery lustrous grey Atomic mass 121. ... General Name, Symbol, Number manganese, Mn, 25 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 7, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Atomic mass 54. ... General Name, Symbol, Number molybdenum, Mo, 42 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 6, 5, d Appearance gray metallic Atomic mass 95. ... General Name, Symbol, Number vanadium, V, 23 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 5, 4, d Appearance silver-grey metal Atomic mass 50. ... // Headline text Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral form of iron(II,III) oxide, with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. ... General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 3, p Appearance silvery Atomic mass 26. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish white Atomic mass 207. ... General Name, Symbol, Number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Atomic mass 65. ... General Name, Symbol, Number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Atomic mass 238. ... Undershot water wheels on the Orontes River in Hama, Syria Saint Anthony Falls Hydropower (or waterpower) harnesses the energy of moving or falling water. ...

China's water resources include 2,711.5 billion cubic meters of runoff in its rivers and 828.8 billion cubic meters which was pumped annually from shallow aquifers circa 2000. As pumping water draws water from nearby rivers, the total available resource is 2,821.4 billion cubic meters. 80.9% of these resources are in the Yangtze River basin. In 1993, 498,720 square kilometers were irrigated. The Water resources of China include 2,711. ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America. ... High-altitude aerial view of irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara ( ) Irrigation is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops or plants. ...

Natural hazards

Frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts), damaging floods, monsoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts afflict China. On 23 August 1976, a major earthquake in Tangshan killed hundreds of thousands of people. Cyclone Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004. ... Look up flood in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Monsoon in the Vindhya mountain range, central India A monsoon is a wind pattern that reverses direction with the seasons. ... The tsunami that struck MalÃ© in the Maldives on December 26, 2004. ... An earthquake is a phenomenon that results from and is powered by the sudden release of stored energy in the crust that radiates seismic waves. ... A drought is an abnormally dry period when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban or environme fdsdesntal water needs. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Many buildings were flattened into rubble when the earthquake hit. ...

Environment

Main article: Environment of China To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Current Issues

Air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal, produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes and use of debated standards of pollutant concentration rather than Total Maximum Daily Load; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species. Before flue gas desulfurization was installed, the emissions from this power plant in New Mexico contained excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide. ... Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ... Sulfur dioxide (or Sulphur dioxide) has the chemical formula SO2. ... Coal Coal (IPA: ) is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (surface mining). ... The effects of acid rain in the Jizera Mountains of the Czech Republic Acid rain (or more accurately acid precipitation)[1] occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere, undergo chemical transformations and are absorbed by water droplets in clouds. ... Water pollution Water pollution is a large set of adverse effects upon water bodies (lakes, rivers, oceans, groundwater) caused by human activities. ... Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land use such as arable land, urban use, logged area or wasteland. ... Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, or movement in response to gravity. ... Ship stranded by the retreat of the Aral Sea Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations, but primarily human activities. ... The endangered Sea Otter An endangered species is a population of organisms (usually a taxonomic species), which because it is either (a) few in number or (b) threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters, it is at risk of becoming extinct. ...

International Agreements

China is a party to the Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Climate Change treaty, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Endangered Species treaty, the Hazardous Wastes treaty, the Law of the Sea, the International Tropical Timber Agreements of 1983 and 1994, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, and agreements on Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, and Wetlands protection. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, also known as the Antarctic-Environmental Protocol is part of the Antarctic Treaty System. ... For the Antarctic Treaty from the Gundam anime, see Antarctic Treaty (Gundam) The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate the international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earths only uninhabited continent. ... The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty that was adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years Climate change refers to the variation in the Earths global climate or in regional climates over time. ... The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa is an agreement to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements. ... The endangered Sea Otter An endangered species is a population of organisms (usually a taxonomic species), which because it is either (a) few in number or (b) threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters, it is at risk of becoming extinct. ... Admiralty law (usually referred to as simply admiralty and also referred to as maritime law or Law of the Sea) is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. ... note - abbreviated as Tropical Timber 83 opened for signature - November 18, 1983 entered into force - April 1, 1985; this agreement expired when the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994, went into force. ... note - abbreviated as Tropical Timber 94 opened for signature - January 26, 1994 entered into force - January 1, 1997 objective - to ensure that by the year 2000 exports of tropical timber originate from sustainably managed sources; to establish a fund to assist tropical timber producers in obtaining the resources necessary to... The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling is an international agreement (see environmental agreement) signed in 1946 designed to make whaling sustainable. ... Ship Pollution is an abbreviated form of the Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, 1973. ...

China has signed, but not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and the Nuclear Test Ban treaty. Earth as seen by Apollo 17 The Kyoto Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty on global warming. ... The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes and was opened for signature in New York on 24 September 1996, when it was signed by 71 States, including the five nuclear weapon states at the time (which did not...

Wildlife

China lies in two of the world's major zoogeographic regions, the Palearctic and the Oriental. The Tibetan Plateau, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Manchuria all areas north of the Yellow River, are in the Palearctic region. Central, southern, and southwest China lie in the Oriental region. In the Palearctic zone are found such important mammals as the river fox, horse, camel, tapir, mouse hare, hamster, and jerboa. Among the species found in the Oriental region are the civet cat, Chinese pangolin, bamboo rat, treeshrew, and also gibbon and various other species of monkeys and apes. Some overlap exists between the two regions because of natural dispersal and migration, and deer or antelope, bears, wolves, pigs, and rodents are found in all of the diverse climatic and geological environments. The famous giant panda is found only in a limited area along the Chang Jiang. The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth surface (see map). ... Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and Sichuan Province of China lie on the Tibetan Plateau. ... For the county in Shanxi province, see Xinjiang County. ... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N... Manchuria (Manchu: Manju; Traditional Chinese: æ»¿æ´²; Simplified Chinese: æ»¡æ´²; pinyin: MÇŽnzhÅu, Russian: ) is a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth surface (see map). ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Species Camelus bactrianus Camelus dromedarius Camels are even-toed ungulates in the genus Camelus. ... Species Tapirus bairdii Tapirus indicus Tapirus pinchaque Tapirus terrestris Tapirs are large browsing animals, roughly pig-like in shape but with short, prehensile trunks. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Genera 10 genera in 5 subfamilies A jerboa is a small jumping desert rodent of Asia and northern Africa that resembles a mouse with a long tufted tail and very long hind legs. ... Subfamilies Cryptoproctinae Euplerinae Hemigalinae Paradoxurinae Viverrinae The 35 species of civet, genet and linsang make up the family Viverridae. ... Genera Rhizomys Cannomys Species Rhizomys sinensis Rhizomys pruinosus Rhizomys sumatrensis Cannomys badius The bamboo rats are four species of rodents of the subfamily Rhizomyinae. ... Families Tupaiidae Ptilocercidae The treeshrews are small mammals native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. ...

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