Wuding
Wuding is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 37.53°, 110.25°
About Wuding
The Wuding River (Chinese: 无定河) begins in the Ordos Desert in Shaanxi Province, Inner Mongolia and flows south into loess canyons and farmland. After around 160 kilometres (100 mi) it flows into the great Yellow River. The Wuding has its own tributaries, such as the Dali River, Hailiutu River, Hanjiang River, and the Danjiang River. The course of the river roughly parallels the northern route of the ancient Silk Road, now the National Highway 210.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Wuding River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Wuding in Depth
History
The river's name means "winding" or "unstable" or "capricious" or "without a fixed course". This relates to its shifting course during classical times. The river area was much contested in classical times, and many battles were fought along and around it. On its early northern reaches stood the 'White City' of Tongwancheng, the main Hun capital on the non-Chinese side of the Great Wall of China. The river served as a military boundary into the warlord period of Chinese history, when opium replaced cotton as the crop on the river's fertile loess farmland, and into the modern communist period.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Wuding River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Wuding: Key Facts
| Length | 490 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 30,000 km² |
| Mouth | Yellow River |
| Drainage system | Yellow River Basin |
Facts from Wikidata Q15907862 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Wuding: Quick Answers
- Where is Wuding?
- Wuding is located in China, at 37.5326° N, 110.2550° E.
- Are there dams on the Wuding?
- No dam on the Wuding is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.