page_title: Yangtze
section_title: Geologic history
hierarchical_section_title: Yangtze / History / Geologic history
caption_attribution_description: Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangzi River gorge, in south-western China's Yunnan ProvinceAfternoon Light
context_page_description: The Yangtze or Yangzi is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains and flows 6,300 km in a generally easterly direction to the East China Sea. It is the sixth-largest river by discharge volume in the world. Its drainage basin comprises one-fifth of the land area of China, and is home to nearly one-third of the country's population.
  The Yangtze has played a major role in the history, culture and economy of China. For thousands of years, the river has been used for water, irrigation, sanitation, transportation, industry, boundary-marking and war. The prosperous Yangtze River Delta generates as much as 20% of China's GDP. The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze is the largest hydro-electric power station in the world. In mid-2014, the Chinese government announced it was building a multi-tier transport network, comprising railways, roads and airports, to create a new economic belt alongside the river.
context_section_description: Although the mouth of the Yellow River has fluctuated widely north and south of the Shandong peninsula within the historical record, the Yangtze has remained largely static. Based on studies of sedimentation rates, however, it is unlikely that the present discharge site predates the late Miocene (c. 11 Ma). Prior to this, its headwaters drained south into the Gulf of Tonkin along or near the course of the present Red River.
caption: Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "[#Beginning of Shooting Data Section]\rNikon COOLPIX5700\r\nFocal Length: 13.7mm\r\nWhite Balance: Auto\r\nDigital Zoom Ratio: 1.00\r\n2005/02/07 16:21:09\r\nExposure Mode: Programmed Auto\r\nAF Mode: AF-S\r\nSaturation comp: 0\r\nJPEG (8-bit) Fine\r\nMetering Mode: Center-Weighted\r\nTone Comp: Normal\r\nSharpening: None\r\nImage Size: 2560 x 1920\r\n1/62.4 sec - F/7.7\r\nFlash Sync Mode: Not Attached\r\nNoise Reduction: OFF\r\nColor\r\nExposure Comp.: 0 EV\r\nConverterLens: None\r\nSensitivity: Auto\r\n[#End of Shooting Data Section]", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "E5700", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0", "Image DateTime": "2005:02:10 16:26:05", "Image Artist": "Peter Morgan", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "Copyright 2005, Peter Morgan", "Image ExifOffset": "792", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1490", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3809", "EXIF ExposureTime": "400641/25000000", "EXIF FNumber": "77/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:02:07 16:21:09", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:02:07 16:21:09", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "137/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2560", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1920", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "54", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}