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Journal of Desert Research ›› 2020, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (3): 7-15.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2019.00058

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River piracy of the Lu River by the Salawusu River and its historical-geographical significance

Huang Yinzhou, Li Jing, Fu Jiao, Wang Naiang   

  1. College of Earth&Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • Received:2019-05-03 Revised:2019-06-08 Online:2020-05-20 Published:2020-06-09

Abstract: The Wuding River is situated in the arid and semi-arid area of northern China, where the ecosystem is very sensitive. Historically, the region is a border region of central China and northern nomadic tribes. Therefore, its physical environment and the water resource would impact the location of human activities, such as transportation, town setting, and land reclamation and so on. Through topographic analysis, comprehensive stratigraphic profile dating, remote sensing images, historical maps and historical literature analysis, this paper discussed the situation of the river and lake system at its upper reaches of Wuding River in the historical period. We found that the water source of the upper reaches of Wuding River, that is, the upper reaches of Salawusu River, captured another tributary of the Wuding River, that is, the Lu River. The piracy took place after the Northern Wei Dynasty and before the Ming Dynasty. Before the piracy, the existence of the EW-trending Lake Wetland affected the spatial distribution of historical human activities in the area, mainly in the selection of human settlements, transportation channels and so on. This study provides a new geographical reference for re-recognizing the records in Shuijing Zhu, helps to rebuild the historical landscape of the upper reaches of Wuding River, and provides a typical case for understanding the evolution of historical rivers in the Loess Plateau, thus is of great significance.

Key words: Wuding River, Salawusu River, Lu River, Shuijingzhu, river piracy, historical geography

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