Jinsha River

Jinsha (金沙江)
Yangtze, Tongtian He
River
Jinsha flowing along the bottom of Tiger Leaping Gorge
Name origin: Chinese: "Golden Sand River"
Country	China
States	Qinghai, Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan
Part of	Yangtze River basin
Tributaries
- left	Beilu River, Yalong River
- right	Pudu River, Xiaojiang River, Niulang River
Cities	Lijiang, Yunnan, Panzhihua
Source	Tongtian River
- location	Confluence of Chumaer, Muluwusu and Akedamu Rivers, Qinghai
- elevation	4,500 m (14,764 ft)
- coordinates	34°05′51″N 92°54′38″E
Mouth	Yangtze River
- location	Confluence with Min Jiang at Yibin, Sichuan
- elevation	300 m (984 ft)
- coordinates	28°46′05″N 104°38′29″E
Length	2,290 km (1,423 mi) approx.
Basin	485,000 km2 (187,260 sq mi) approx.
Discharge
- average	4,471 m3/s (157,892 cu ft/s)
- max	35,000 m3/s (1,236,013 cu ft/s)
Map of the Jinsha River drainage basin

Jinsha River (Chinese: 金沙江; pinyin: Jīnshā Jiāng; literally "Golden Sands River") is the westernmost of the major headwater streams of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang).

It flows through the Qinghai, and Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in western China. The river passes through Tiger Leaping Gorge, and has portions within the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas.

Geography

Route

The Jinsha River's headwaters rise in the Wulan and Kekexili ranges in western Qinghai province, to the south of the Kunlun Mountains, and on the northern slope of the Tanggula Mountains on the border of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The three principal headwaters — the Chumaer, Muluwusu, and Akedamu rivers — join to form the Tongtian River, which flows southeast to Zhimenda near the frontier between Qinghai and Sichuan provinces.

As the Jinsha River, it then flows south through a deep gorge parallel to the similar gorges of the upper Mekong and upper Salween rivers, from which it is separated by the Ningjing Mountains. It forms the western border of Sichuan for some 250 miles (400 km) and then flows into Yunnan province. After a large, 200 mile (320 km) long loop to the north of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, the Jinsha swings northeast, forming the Sichuan-Yunnan provincial boundary until it joins the Min River at Yibin in Sichuan to form the Yangtze.

Gradients

The upper course of the river falls about 14 feet per mile (2.7 m/km). Below Batang (Sichuan) the gradient gradually decreases to about 8 feet per mile (1.5 m/km), but the Jinsha is unnavigable and in its upper course, through the gorges, is more of an obstacle than an aid to transportation.

Development

The Jinsha River is under heavy development by China, with over sixteen dam projects in various phases of development along the river, and many on its tributaries as well, especially the Yalong. Four dams along the lower part of the river are under construction or have already been completed to generate hydroelectric power and to trap silt that would otherwise create problems at the Three Gorges Dam. The ten largest dams will produce 55,710 megawatts of power.

See also

• Dams on the Jinsha River
• Tiger Leaping Gorge
• Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas
• Index: Tributaries of the Yangtze River
• List of rivers in China

References

• Jun, Huang; Zulin Zhang and Gang Yu (2003). "Occurrence of dissolved PAHs in the Jinsha River (Panzhihua)—upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Southwest China". J. Environ. Monit. 5 (5): 604–09. doi:10.1039/b210670a. 
• International Rivers, (2009-1-16). Jinsha River Dams Retrieved 2010-1-25.