Yalong River in the Fourth Phase of Hengduan Mountains —— Neglected Overlord of Western Sichuan

In addition to the Nujiang River, Lancang River and Jinsha River, there are three rivers on the east side of Hengduan Mountains, namely Yalong River, Dadu River and Minjiang River, which are called "Hengduan Six Rivers".

Yalong River is a tributary of Jinsha River, Minjiang River is a tributary of Yangtze River and Dadu River is a tributary of Minjiang River. That sounds confusing. To put it bluntly, they are all tributaries of the Yangtze River.

Interestingly, among the six rivers that cross the Yangtze River, only the Nujiang River and Lancang River on the west side flow southward and become international rivers, and all the four rivers on the east side eventually merge into the Yangtze River.

Jinsha River, as the dividing line between Tibet and Sichuan, also divides the boundaries between nature and humanity. We say that Hengduan Mountain is famous for its canyons, and "seven veins and six rivers" means that there are six canyons between seven mountains. If the Nujiang River, Lancang River and Jinsha River are landscape canyons, then the Yalong River, Dadu River and Minjiang River are humanities canyons, and the farther east they go, the more human they are.

Yalong River is a tributary of Jinsha River, which flows into Jinsha River in Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province.

People don't know much about Yalong River, and the research focuses on hydropower stations. Among the six rivers crossing the Yangtze River, the Yalong River is very low-key, and the "Three Parallel Rivers" in the west is too dazzling. Dadu River and Minjiang River in the east also have their own characteristics, extending to Chengdu Plain, which is very close to the people. In contrast, the Yalong River is hidden in the mountains of western Sichuan, and there is no particularly prominent bright spot, which is easy to be ignored.

Dadu River: I have Luding Bridge, which is full of humanistic atmosphere.

Minjiang River: I have a Dujiangyan water conservancy project that has been inherited for 2000 years. No one can compare with me in sense of history ~

Jinsha River-Lancang River-Nujiang River: The three of us chose one, all of which are world-class canyons. After the combination, there is a scenic spot with three parallel rivers, which sounds very domineering.

Minjiang River and Dadu River: There will be Leshan Giant Buddha after our merger!

Yalong River: …

The low-key of Yalong River has a lot to do with its geographical location. There are many rivers in Sichuan, but among the most famous rivers, only the Yalong River runs through the western mountainous area from beginning to end, and other rivers flow to the Chengdu Plain and merge into the bustling metropolitan area, making the Yalong River seem out of place.

Because of this, the Yalong River can be called the overlord of western Sichuan. The topography of Sichuan can be divided into two zones: the eastern basin and the western plateau and mountainous area, and the Yalong River is the largest river in western Sichuan. From the source to Jinsha River, from north to south, from northwest Sichuan Plateau to southwest mountainous area, Yalong River accommodates hundreds of rivers on the western Sichuan Plateau along the way, nourishing countless towns in western Sichuan and becoming the most important water flow in western Sichuan.

Although Jinsha River also flows through Sichuan Province, its location is too remote. Compared with the two, the Yalong River lives in the hinterland of western Sichuan and is more "domineering".

In addition, the Yalong River has a low-key identity-it is the longest tributary of the Yangtze River. Although it flows into the Jinsha River, the Jinsha River is actually the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

For Yalong River, this honor is hard-won. For a long time, people have always thought that the Han River is the longest tributary of the Yangtze River. The remote sensing survey of the source of Yalong River in 20 13 shows that the length of Yalong River is 1670 km, while the length of Han River is 1570 km, so the length of Yalong River exceeds that of Han River and becomes the first.

The most troublesome thing about determining the length of a river is to determine its source. If you meet two similar rivers, you should give up one of them. In addition, the source water is originally small, and it is often just an inconspicuous stream, which leads to different judgment results.

The Yalong River originated in the southern foot of Bayan Kara, Chenduo County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. Its source is called Zhaqu, which flows through shiqu county, Sichuan Province and starts to be called Yalong River. Bayan Kara is very famous. It is located in the source area of Sanjiangyuan, Qinghai Province. The three rivers refer to the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Lancang River, not the "parallel flow of the three rivers". Among them, the birthplace of the Yellow River is Bayan Kara.

At the source, the ground here is 4800 meters above sea level and the peak is 5200 meters above sea level. The relative height difference is very small, and the terrain is flat and open. There are many streams in the mountains, and the rivers are shallow and wide. These streams come from melting snow from glaciers and flow slowly on alpine meadows.

After entering Sichuan, the Yalong River rushes over the western Sichuan Plateau. In Ganzi County, northwest of Sichuan Province, the Yalong River dropped to 3300 meters above sea level, and began to show canyon landforms, running through Shaluli Mountain and Daxue Mountain.

Ganzi county is located in an open area among the mountains. Sichuan-Tibet Highway and Yalong River pass through the center of the county, and snow-capped mountains, meadows, rivers and highways come together, which looks quite magical.

In the center of the county, the Yalong River divides into several tributaries and bends forward to form the Yalong River Wetland Park.

Further south, through Xinlong County to Yajiang County, the altitude drops to 2600 meters, and Yajiang's name comes from Yalong River.

It dropped to 2000 meters in Muli County, Sichuan Province, until it dropped to 980 meters in Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province, and merged into the Jinsha River, which flows east and west. Yalong River, with a total length of 1600 km and a drop of 3,800 meters!

Yalong River and Jinsha River meet in Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province. Can you see which one is Jinsha River? Yes, the one who rolled on the beach.

Although it flows in the mountains of western Sichuan, the Yalong River is not alone. Hundreds of tributaries, including 290 tributaries, were absorbed along the way, and the drainage area exceeded 100 square kilometers.

When the Yalong River reached the junction of Muli County, Mianning County and Yanyuan County downstream, it was blocked by Jinping Mountain in the south, and suddenly a big bend similar to the Jinsha River appeared, which was called the Yalong River Big Bend. On the map, these two big bends are very close and look alike. No wonder Yalong River has the title of "Little Gold Jiang Sha".

Due to the obstruction of Jinping Mountain, the Yalong River has formed a big strange bay with a drop of more than 300 meters. The huge water volume and gap provide abundant hydropower resources, forming Jinping I and II hydropower stations. In the lower reaches of Yalong River, there is abundant water flow and concentrated drop. More than 20 cascade hydropower stations have been built, and many hydropower stations are planned in the upper reaches.

The six rivers in Hengduan have their own scenery, but the common feature is that they all have XXX Grand Canyon scenic spot. Yalong River Grand Canyon is located in Xinlong County, Sichuan Province. As can be seen from the map, Xinlong County is located in the middle reaches of Yalong River, sandwiched between the southern part of Sichuan-Tibet line (3 18 national road) and the northern part of Sichuan-Tibet line (3 17 national road).

The county seat is 3050 meters above sea level and is located on the terraced fields by the river. Terrace is a stepped terrain that rises from both sides of the river bed and is produced by the continuous downward erosion of the river.

In the western Sichuan Plateau, as the terrain altitude drops from north to south, the number of mountains along the way gradually increases, and undulating hills begin to appear on the flat plateau, and then alpine canyons appear. In the middle reaches, the height difference between the river and the peaks on both sides of the river has reached 1 1,500 m, and the Yalong River Grand Canyon was born.

Like Jinsha River and Nujiang River, Yalong River Grand Canyon also has famous big bend scenic spots.

Compared with the Jinsha River bend, it looks quite similar.

The Yalong River in the middle and upper reaches has a spectacular scenery unique to the western Sichuan Plateau. At the downstream near Panzhihua City, the mountains on both sides have turned into low hills, and the valleys have become spacious, showing a beautiful scene.

As an important river in the western Sichuan Plateau, the Yalong River is unknown, but it runs for thousands of miles, raising several small towns in western Sichuan and providing rich hydraulic resources. It can be said that it is hard to ask for nothing in return. The holiday is coming, and friends who haven't decided their destination should consider Yalong River ~