FLUVIAL PROCESSES IN THE LOWER YELLOW RIVER AFTER LEVEE BREACHING AT TONGWAXIANG IN 1855

I. CHAncEL CHANGal m THE FLOODED AREA ArVER BREACHING AT TONGWAXIANG AND THEIR IMPACTSIn mid--June of 1855 a great flood occurred in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. The findmainly came down from the main stem of the river and itS tributary Qinhe River. In the meantimethe riparian area of the Yellow River had just been subjected to a heavy rain, and large amountS of water from mountains and hills were flowing into the river and lakes were also full. The Weis…

FLUVIAL PROCSSES IN THE LOWER YELLOW RIVER AFTER LEVEE BREACHING AT TONGWAXIANG IN 1855

In studying the fluvial processes of an alluvial river one cannot but take the river's historical background into consideration. China has kept on recording the changes of its major river systems in detail since ancient times, and these records are the most valuable historical heritage in the field of river engineering studies. In 1855 a serious levee breaching occurred at Tongwaxiang,Henan Province in the Lower Yellow River, and the main river channel was relocated entirely, causing important changes in reaches both upstream and downstream of the breach. The influence is so profound that some characteristics of the fluvial processes in the Lower Yellow River are closely related to it to this day. In the following the writer will explain the relations between the past and the present in four aspects: 1. Channel changes in the flooded area after the breaching and their impacts; 2. Evolution of the Daqing River after invasion by the Yellow River; 3. Influence of the levee breaching on the upstream river channel; 4. Features of geographical location of levee breaching spots in the last hundred years so as to learn the experiences and lessons in the historical historical fluvial processes and to benefit the work of river improvement in the Lower Yellow River.