People's Republic of China

Geography

Main article: Geography of China

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The PRC is the fourth largest country in the world and contains a large variety of landscapes. 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. In the central-east are found the deltas of China's two major rivers, the Huang He and Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). Other major rivers include the Xijiang River, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur.

Related Topics:
Yellow Sea - East China Sea - Alluvial plains - Shore - South China Sea - Delta - Huang He - Yangtze River - Xijiang River - Mekong - Brahmaputra - Amur

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To the west, major mountain ranges, notably the Himalaya with China's highest point Mount Everest, and high plateaus feature among the more arid landscape of deserts such as the Taklamakan and the Gobi Desert.

Related Topics:
Himalaya - Mount Everest - Desert - Taklamakan - Gobi Desert

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Due to a prolonged drought and poor agricultural practices dust storms have become usual in the spring in China. According to China's Environmental Protection Agency, the Gobi Desert has been expanding "like a tsunami" and is a major source of dust storms which affect Mainland China and other parts of northeast Asia such as Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Dust from the northern plains has been tracked to the West Coast of the United States. River management (human waste dumping, factory pollution, and water extraction for irrigation and drinking) and dust erosion are problems affecting other countries that have become recent important concerns for relations between China and its neighboring countries.

Related Topics:
Drought - Dust storms - Mainland China - Taiwan - Korea - Japan - West Coast - United States

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~