Language: English
1980; Hardcover;270x295mm;
Northwest China is the most developed region of loess in the world where loess with a great thickness and a complete sequence is widely distributed. The study of loess in China has long been stressed in geology, geography and pedology.The loess referred in this album includes typical loess and loess-like deposits.
In China, loess spreads mainly between 33゜ and 47゜N., controlled by the direction of mountain systems. To the south, the loess region is bordered by Qinling, Funiu and Dabie mountains. Loess in China is also related to climatic belt, being distributed mainly in the northern arid or semiarid regions, where the temperature in the cold months is generally below 0℃, annual precipitation averages 250-500mm, and evaporation is over 1000mm per year.
In regard to the area of loess coverage in China, there exist quite different views. In the Sketch Map of Loess Distribution in China of this album, it is shown to cover an area of 631000km2 ,approximately 6.6% of the whole territory of China.
Loess in China is mainly distributed at the altitude of 200-2400 metres above loess constituting the well-known loess plateau. In this region loess mostly extends over an altitude of 2000 metres to the west of the Liu Pan Mountains, while to the east at the altitude between 1000 and 2000 metres; and in the areas lower than 1000 metres loess are deposited in some of the basins and plais in the east, and scattered along some of the piedmonts in the west .
The thickest loess deposits lie in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. To the west of Liu Pan Mountains, spreading northwards from the terrain between Huajialing and Mahanshan to the vicinity of Lanzhou and to the west of the Baiyu Ranges, it attains a thickness up to 200-300 metres. To the east of the Liu Pan Mountains and the west of the Luliang Mountains, the thickness is between 100 and 200 metres. On the northern piedmonts of the mountain ranges of Qilian Shan, Tian Shan and Altun Shan, it is less than 500 metres thick. In the north China Plain, the loess deposits, being interbeded with other alluvial sediments, are not very thick.
Table of Contents
1. Landforms of Loess in China
2. Stratigraphy of Loess in China
3. Constituent Materials and Micro-Textures of Loess in China
4. Human Fossils and Cultural Finds in Loess Regions of China
5. Utilization and Reformation of Loess in China
