Loess Plateau
Yellow silt tableland
The Loess Plateau is a vast highland region in north-central China, covering parts of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces.
Named for its deep deposits of loess—fine, wind-blown silt—the plateau is among the most eroded landscapes on Earth, carved into dramatic gullies and ravines.
The Yellow River carries its distinctive color from sediment washed off this plateau.
Reforestation efforts on the Loess Plateau have become a model for land restoration.
Small-seeded food crop
- wheatCereal crop for flour
- sorghumWarm-climate cereal grass
- maizeCob-bearing cereal crop
- terraced fieldsTiered agricultural hillside plots
dryland farming · irrigation · cave dwellings · subsistence · arable · harvest · cultivation · tillage
Waterborne earth particles
- loamFertile soil mixture
- windblownDisplaced by gusts
- dustFine settled particles
- strataParallel geological layers
quartz · clay · calcareous · accumulation · deposits · particles · minerals · geology
Loss of topsoil
- deforestationLarge-scale woodland elimination
- overgrazingExcessive pasture consumption
- desertificationLand becoming barren, infertile
- landslidesMasses of earth falling
siltation · runoff · degradation · wind erosion · water erosion · dust storms · sedimentation · denudation
Replanting depleted woodlands
- afforestationIntroducing woods to treeless land
- terracingCutting slopes into steps
- restorationReturning something to condition
- sustainabilityCapacity to endure indefinitely
China's second-longest river
- Inner MongoliaChinese autonomous region
- steppeTreeless Eurasian grassland
- ravineDeep, narrow valley
- gullyChannel carved by flowing water
badlands · tableland · terraces · canyon · bluff · escarpment · highland
Final prehistoric stone-tool era
- Silk RoadHistoric transcontinental trade network
- Xi'anHistoric Shaanxi metropolis
- Terracotta ArmyTomb sculpture battalion
- ancient agricultureCultivation practices of antiquity
millet
Small-seeded food crop
terraced fields · dryland farming · irrigation · cave dwellings · subsistence · arable · harvest · cultivation · tillage · jujube
silt
Waterborne earth particles
strata · quartz · clay · calcareous · accumulation · deposits · particles · minerals · geology · paleoclimatology
soil erosion
Loss of topsoil
- deforestationLarge-scale woodland elimination
- overgrazingExcessive pasture consumption
- desertificationLand becoming barren, infertile
landslides · siltation · runoff · degradation · wind erosion · water erosion · dust storms · sedimentation · denudation · weathering
reforestation
Replanting depleted woodlands
- afforestationIntroducing woods to treeless land
- terracingCutting slopes into steps
- restorationReturning something to condition
sustainability · greening · erosion control · revegetation · shelterbelts
Yellow River
China's second-longest river
- Inner MongoliaChinese autonomous region
- steppeTreeless Eurasian grassland
- ravineDeep, narrow valley
gully · badlands · tableland · terraces · canyon · bluff · escarpment · highland
Neolithic
Final prehistoric stone-tool era
- Silk RoadHistoric transcontinental trade network
- Xi'anHistoric Shaanxi metropolis
- Terracotta ArmyTomb sculpture battalion
cradle of civilization · ancient agriculture · archaeological sites
- ChinaBeijing, Shanghai, Great Wall, Yellow River, Chinese calligraphy
- Eurasian GeographyHimalayas, Gobi Desert, Ganges River, Yangtze River, Caspian Sea
- Asian LandformsHimalayas, Gobi Desert, Yangtze River, Yellow River, Mount Everest
- Asian PlateausArmenian Highlands
- China Environmentgiant panda, Yangtze River, Yellow River, Three Gorges Dam, air pollution
- Dry PlateausAltiplano, Great Basin
Loess Plateauvolcanic plateau
Flat highland from eruptions
Deccan Traps · floodplain · river delta · Columbia Plateau · Nile Delta
Loess PlateauAmazon Rainforest
South American tropical wilderness
tropical rainforest · Congo Basin · old-growth forest · Everglades · pristine wilderness
Loess Plateauocean trench
Mariana Trench · Great Rift Valley · submarine canyon · Death Valley