Abstract
The formation of the Yellow River involved the draining of a series of ancestral local lakes along their course, substantially changing the regional, geomorphic, and paleoenvironmental evolution. However, the evolution of the Weihe-Sanmenxia Basin section of the Yellow River remains indistinct as previous studies regard the Weihe and Sanmenxia Basin as one integral basin of the Late Cenozoic. Here, we present the detrital zircon age spectra from the Pliocene-Pleistocene Sanmen Formation to clarify the drainage system evolution of the two basins since the Late Pliocene. The results reveal that these two basins belonged to different drainage systems in the Late Pliocene because no sediments from the marginal mountains of the Weihe Basin accumulated in the Sanmenxia Basin. At 2.8/2.6 Ma, the currents presented at the edge of the basins and transported the sediment of east Hua Mountain into the Sanmenxia Basin, where it was deposited. This integration likely leads to a mismatch between the deposition and regional paleoclimate in previous studies. At ∼1.0 Ma, the Sanmenxia Gorge was traversed and the Yellow River finally formed, depositing Jinshaan Gorge sediment into the Sanmenxia Basin and lower reaches of the Yellow River.
Highlights
The Yellow River is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest river in the world
The apparent difference in sediment provenance in the Sanmenxia and Weihe Basins before 2.8 Ma indicated that they belonged to different drainage systems
Previous studies of the sedimentary facies (Liu et al, 2019) indicated that the lake level in the Weihe Basin decreased, whereas in the Sanmenxia Basin, the level increased at 2.8 Ma; this study further revealed that the sediment provenance of the Sanmenxia Basin changed from Zhongtiao Mountain to eastern Hua Mountain
Summary
The Yellow River is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest river in the world. In the middle reaches of the Yellow River, many studies have been carried out in Jinshaan Gorge (Fu et al, 2013; Hu et al, 2017) and Sanmenxia Gorge (Wang et al, 2002; Pan et al, 2005; Jiang et al, 2007; Zheng et al, 2007; Kong et al, 2014; Hu et al, 2016). Jinshaan Gorge connects the Hetao Basin and Weihe Basin, whereas Sanmenxia Gorge connects Weihe Basin and Huabei Plain. Previous studies have regarded the Weihe Basin and Sanmenxia Basin as one integral basin, belonging to the Sanmen Paleolake since ∼5 Ma, having been deposited with the fluvio- The integration of the Weihe Basin and Sanmenxia Basin remains indistinct, which makes the Yellow River bend significantly (nearly 90°) in Tongguan County (Figure 1).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
