The Ordos Desert (Chinese: 鄂尔多斯沙漠; pinyin: È'ěrduōsī Shāmò) is a desert and steppe region lying on a plateau in the south of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China (centered ca. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. In physical Geography, a steppe ( German, from степь - "a flat and arid land" степ - /stɛp/ тал - tal дала - /dɑlɑ/ pronounced In Geology and Earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting Inner Mongolia ( Mongolian:, Öbür mongɣul; occasionally romanized to Nei Mongol is the Mongol Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES ). The soil of the Ordos is a mixture of clay and sand and, as a result, is poorly suited for agriculture. Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture It extends over an area of approximately 90,650 km². Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of It comprises two large deserts: the 7th largest desert in China, Kubuqi (Kubuqi Shamo, 库布其沙漠) in the north, and the 8th largest desert in China, Maowusu (Maowusu Shamo, 毛乌素沙漠), in the south.
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Location
The Ordos Desert is almost completely encircled by the immense southern bend of the Huang He (Yellow River) in the west, north, and east. The Yellow River or Huang He / Hwang Ho ( Hatan Gol Queen river) is the second-longest river in China (after the Yangtze River) and the Mountain ranges separate the Ordos from the Gobi Desert north and east of the Huang He. A mountain range is a chain of Mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys The Gobi (Говь Govi or Gov', "gravel-covered plain" Chinese: zh-t 戈壁(沙漠 Gēbì (Shāmò) The Yellow River or Huang He / Hwang Ho ( Hatan Gol Queen river) is the second-longest river in China (after the Yangtze River) and the The mountain chains separating the Ordos from the central Gobi in the north of the great bend of the Huang He are: the Kara-naryn-ula, the Sheitenula, and the Yin Shan (In Mountains), which link on to the south end of the Great Khingan Mountains. The Yellow River or Huang He / Hwang Ho ( Hatan Gol Queen river) is the second-longest river in China (after the Yangtze River) and the The Yin Mountains ( Yin Shan or Yinshan) are Mountains in the Steppe forming the southern border of the eastern Gobi Desert of the The Greater Khingan Range ( Pinyin: Dàxīng'ānlǐng Manchu: Amba Hinggan also called the Greater Hing'an Range or Greater Hinggan Range In the south and east, the Great Wall of China separates the Ordos from fertile loess lands. The Great Wall of China ( or ( is a series of stone and earthen Fortifications in China, built rebuilt and maintained between the 6th century BC and the 16th Loess is a homogeneous typically non stratified porous Friable,slightly coherent often calcareous fine-grained Silty pale yellow or buff windblown ( aeolian The Ordos covers the southern section of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Ningxia Autonomous Region, and Provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu. Inner Mongolia ( Mongolian:, Öbür mongɣul; occasionally romanized to Nei Mongol is the Mongol In a similar fashion to the former Soviet Union 's Titular nations a number of areas associated with one or more ethnic minorities are designated as '''autonomous''' Ningxia ( Postal map spelling: Ningsia full name Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region ( is a Hui autonomous region of the People's Republic In a similar fashion to the former Soviet Union 's Titular nations a number of areas associated with one or more ethnic minorities are designated as '''autonomous''' A province, in the context of China, is a translation of sheng ( which is an administrative division ( Postal map spelling: Shensi) is a north-central province of the People's Republic of China, and includes portions of the Loess ( is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.
Relief
The Ordos Desert forms an intermediate step in the descent from the Himalayas to the lowlands of Eastern China. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Towards the south it rises to an altitude of over 1,500 m, and in the west, along the right bank of the Huang He, the Arbus or Arbiso Mountains, which overtop the steppe by some 900 m, serve to link the Alashan Mountains with the Yin Shan. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International The Yellow River or Huang He / Hwang Ho ( Hatan Gol Queen river) is the second-longest river in China (after the Yangtze River) and the The Helan Shan ( Alaša aɣula frequently called Alashan Mountains in older sources is a mountain range forming the border of Inner Mongolia 's Alxa League and The Yin Mountains ( Yin Shan or Yinshan) are Mountains in the Steppe forming the southern border of the eastern Gobi Desert of the The northern part of the great bend of the Huang He is filled with the sands of Kuzupchi, a succession of dunes, 12 to 15 m high. In some places these sand-dunes approach close to the Huang He, in others they are parted from it by a belt of sand, intermingled with clay, which terminates in a steep escarpment, 15 m and in some localities 30 m above the river. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Eventually the sand-dunes cross over to the left bank of the Huang He where they are threaded by the beds of dry watercourses. The Yin Shan, which stretch from 108° to 112° E in the north of the great bend of the Huang He, have a wild alpine character and are distinguished from other mountains in the southeast of Mongolia by an abundance of both water and vegetation. This article describes the unit of angle For other meanings see Degree. In one of their constituent ranges, the bold Munni-ula, 113 km long and nearly 32 km wide, they attain elevations of 2,200 to 2,600 m, and have steep flanks, slashed with rugged gorges and narrow glens. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand
Climate
The desert receives less than 250 mm of rain annually, and most of this is in the form of thunderstorms. The Millimetre ( American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to The region has many salt lakes and intermittent streams. The salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of Water which has a concentration of Salts (mostly Sodium chloride) and other minerals significantly A stream is a body of Water with a current, confined within a bed and stream-banks In January, average temperatures range from −13 to −10 °C and cold winds blow into the region from the north and west. The Celsius Temperature scale was previously known as the centigrade scale.
Fauna and flora
The vegetation of the Ordos region is made up of montane grasslands and shrublands. Montane grasslands and shrublands is a Biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. Among the sand dunes in the north, shrubs including Hedysarum scoparium and Calligonum arborescens grow in scattered patches. Native grasses and herbs include Bromus inermis, Agropyron mongolicum, A. cristatum, Festuca arundinacea, Elymus dahuricus, Melilotus albus, M. officinalis, Lotus corniculatus, Pugionium cornutum, Astragalus adsurgens, and Filifolium sibiricum. Agropyron cristatum ( Crested wheat grass, Crested wheatgrass, Fairway crested wheat grass) is a Species in the Poaceae Festuca arundinacea is a species of Fescue known by the common name tall fescue. Yellow Sweet Clover ( Melilotus officinalis) also known as Yellow Melilot, is a Legume sometimes grown for forage. Lotus corniculatus is a common Flowering plant native to grassland temperate Eurasia and North Africa. [1] The belt of sand and clay which separates the sand dunes from the Huang He in places is studded with little mounds (up to 1. 2 m high), mostly overgrown with wormwood (Artemisia campestris) and the Siberian pea-tree (Caragana spp. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Artemisia campestris L ( Field, Tall, Beach, Northern, Boreal, and Canadian Wormwood; Field Sagewort Caragana is a genus of about 80 species of Flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to Asia and eastern Europe. ); and here too grows one of the most characteristic plants of Ordos, the liquorice root (Glycyrrhiza uralensis). Glycyrrhiza uralensis is a Flowering plant native to Asia It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in Traditional Chinese medicine, where On the left bank of the Huang He, level spaces amongst the dry river beds are studded with little mounds (9 cm to 1. A centimetre ( American spelling: centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one hundredth 8 m high), on which grow stunted Nitraria schoberi and Zygophyllum. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International UserPolbot. --> Zygophyllum is a genus of Plant in family Zygophyllaceae. Towards the south, sparse scrub vegetation is found. Forest thickets thrive along the river margins.
In the Yin Shan, forests begin at altitudes of 1,600 m and wild flowers grow in great profusion and variety in summer, though with a striking lack of brilliancy in colouring. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International In this same border range there is also a much greater abundance and variety of animal life, especially amongst the avifauna. Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs.
Rare bird species also breed in the saline lakes of the Ordos, among them Relict Gulls (Larus relictus). The Relict Gull, Ichthyaetus relictus is a medium-sized Gull which breeds in several locations in Mongolia ( e For the latter species the Ordos is home to about one quarter of the world's population.
The present status of large mammals in the region is largely unclear. In the past, it was inhabited by wild two-humped Bactrian camels, snow leopards, Przewalski's gazelles, and Przewalski's horses. The Bactrian Camel ( Camelus bactrianus) is a large Even-toed ungulate native to the Steppes of north eastern Asia. The snow leopard ( Uncia uncia) sometimes known as the ounce, is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central Asia from Afghanistan Northern Przewalski's Gazelle ( Procapra przewalskii) is a member of the Bovidae family and in the wild is found only in China. Przewalski's Horse ( Equus ferus przewalskii, Equus przewalskii or Equus caballus przewalskii classification is debated ʃɨˈvælskiː or /zɨˈvɑːlskiː/ It has been observed that Asiatic wild asses have been leaving the region for less populated areas on the Mongolian border. The Onager ( Equus hemionus) is a large Mammal belonging to the horse family and native to the deserts of Syria, Iran, Pakistan
History
Ancient names of the Ordos region are He-tau and - later - He-nan ("the country south of the river"). By one account, it was the legendary land of origin of the Turks. It was occupied by horse nomads for many centuries, and these were very often at war with China. In the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, it was occupied by the Xiongnu, but was almost depopulated during and after the Dungan revolt of 1869. The Xiongnu ( Turkish: Doğu Hun were a confederation of nomadic tribes from Central Asia with a ruling class of unknown origin and other subjugated tribes The Dungan Revolt was a religious war It also known as the Hui Minorities' War and the Muslim Rebellion. Year 1869 ( MDCCCLXIX) is a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
This region was desert in the Late Glacial Maximum. During the Holocene Climatic Optimum the monsoonal rains that reached the Loess Plateau in the modern era pushed the desert back to the Huanghe. The Holocene Climate Optimum was a warm period during roughly the interval 9000 to 5000 years B A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months The Loess Plateau ( also known as the Huangtu Plateau is a Plateau that covers an area of some 640000 km² in the upper and middle of China 's In the modern period, the lack of rainfall has resulted in a return to desert conditions. However, the most disastrous damage to the environment was caused by the political movements launched by Mao Zedong, namely, Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, during which the thin line of fragile vegetation separating the 7th largest desert in China, Kubuqi (Kubuqi Shamo, 库布其沙漠) in the north, and the 8th largest desert in China Maowusu (Maowusu Shamo, 毛乌素沙漠) in the south was destroyed. Mao Zedong ( 26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese Military and political leader who led The Great Leap Forward ( of the People's Republic of China (PRC was an economic and social plan used from 1958 to 1960 which aimed to use China 's vast population The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in the People’s Republic of China was a struggle for power within the Communist Party of China that manifested into Subsequent pressure of population and sheep/goats/cattle increase further damaged the already weakened local environment to the point of no return, and as a result, the two deserts finally linked up in the 1990's, forming the larger current day Ordos Desert (Chinese: 鄂尔多斯沙漠; pinyin: È'ěrduōsī Shāmò). Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use
Economy
The alkaline soil allows for some nomadic Mongol herders to raise sheep and goats. In Chemistry, an alkali (from Arabic: Al-Qaly القلي القالي) is a basic, ionic salt of an Alkali metal Nomadic people, (from the νομάδες nomádes, "those who let pasture herds" also known as nomads, are communities of people that The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe Heavy grazing by goats has done damage to the grasslands in the region and led to desertification. Desertification is the degradation of land in arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting primarily from human activities and influenced by climatic variations The oases in the region support small scale farming. In Geography, an oasis (plural oases) or Cienega ( Southwestern United States) is an isolated area of vegetation in a Desert, typically Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture The area contains large soda deposits which are heavily mined. Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda or soda ash), is a Sodium Salt of Carbonic acid. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body
References
- ^ Kang Mu-Yi et al (2003). "Ecological Regionalization of Suitable Trees, Shrubs and Herbages for Vegetation Restoration in the Farming-Pastoral Zone of Northern China". Acta Botanica Sinica 2003, 45 (10): 1157-1165.
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
- National Geographic
- Sun Jimin, Ding Zhongli, Liu Tungsheng. "Desert distributions during the glacial maximum and climatic optimum: Example of China". Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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