Ordos Desert
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The Ordos Desert (pinyin: E Er Du Si (Ordos) Sha Mo (Desert)) 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. The soil of the Ordos is a mixture of clay and sand and, as a result, is poorly suited for agriculture. It extends over an area of approximately 90,650 km².
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Location
The Ordos Desert is almost completely encircled by the great northern bend of the Huang He (Yellow River) in the west, north, and east. Mountain ranges separate the Ordos from the Gobi Desert north and east of the Huang He. The mountain chains separating the Ordos from the central Gobi in the north of the great bent of the Huang He are: the Kara-naryn-ula, the Sheitenula, and the In Shan (In Mountains), which link on to the south end of the Great Khingan Mountains. In the south and east, the Great Wall of China separates the Ordos from fertile loess lands. The Orodos covers the southern section of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Ningxia Autonomous Region, and Provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu.
Relief
The Orodos Desert forms an intermediate step in the descent from the Himalayas to the lowlands of Eastern China. 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 Ala Shan (Ala Mountains) with the In Shan. 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. 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 In 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. 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.
Climate
The desert receives less than 25 cm of rain annually, and most of this is in the form of thunderstorms. The region has many salt lakes and intermittent streams. In January, average temperatures range from -13 to -10°C and cold winds blow into the region from the north and west.
Fauna and Flora
The vegetation of the Orodos region is made up of montane grass- and shrublands. Among the sand dunes in the north, the shrub Hedysarum and the trees Calligonum Tragopyrhzn and Pugionium cornutum grow in scattered patches. 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); and here too grows one of the most characteristic plants of Ordos, the liquorice root (Glycyrrhiza uralensis). On the left bank of the Huang He, level spaces amongst the dry river beds are studded with little mounds (9 cm to 1.8 m high), on which grow stunted Nitraria schoberi and Zygophyllum. Towards the south, sparse scrub vegetation is found. Forest thickets thrive along the river margins. In the In 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. In this same border range there is also a much greater abundance and variety of animal life, especially amongst the avifauna. Rare bird species also breed in the saline lakes of the Orodos, among them Relict Gulls (Larus relictus), for the latter species the Orodos is the home of 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. It has been observed, that Asiatic wild asses have been leaving the region for less populated areas on the Mongolian border.
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 occupied by the Xiongnu, but was almost depopulated during and after the Dungan revolt of 1869.
Economy
The alkaline soil allows for some nomadic Mongolian herders to raise sheep and goats. Heavy grazing by goats has done damage to the grasslands in the region and led to desertification. The oases in the region support small scale farming. The area contains large soda deposits which are heavily mined.
References
- This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopdia Britannica.
- National Geographic (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/pa/pa1013.html)bg:Ордос