6 The Yellow River

The intriguingly named Yellow River – more properly the Huang He – is the seventh longest in the entire world but is not China’s longest, despite the fact it travels entirely through China. That honour falls to the Yangtze which, at 3964 miles is nearly 600 miles longer and follows a similar path from the heights of the Himalayas eastwards and northwards towards the distant sea. The Yellow drains into the Bo Hai, part of the Yellow Sea (where else?), and the Yangtse several hundred miles further south into the East China Sea at Shanghai. So what is the origin of the anglicised version of Huang He? (It precedes the 1970 single of the same name by Christie… ). One glance at the photo confirms it is descriptive rather than cryptic: it simply does relate to the striking yellow colour that the river acquires through collection of extensive sediment and silt in its middle course across a  ‘loess’ * plateau in eastern China from Lanzhou to Henan provinces.

Short of watching the Chicago River turned emerald green on St. Patrick’s Day, I haven’t seen such dramatic river water colouring. This silt has plenty of other impacts downstream, but you can’t argue with the naming of the river.  

Origin and the Tibetan Water Tower.

Since being absorbed from independence into China in the 1950s, Tibet has somewhat lost its image as the world’s roof nation, but remains a remote and fascinating image of mountainous beauty. The Tibetan plateau provides the source of several of the world’s greatest rivers. The Yellow and the Yangtze are the principal ones to flow north and east, but to the south and west also flow the Brahmaputra and Indus to India and Pakistan; the Mekong to Indo-China, and the Kamali to Nepal. This water tower, and the glaciers in and around provide life giving water for hundreds of millions of people. This places huge responsibility on scientists and politicians to monitor and manage the impacts of deforestation, hydro power, intensive irrigation and pollution – mostly well meaning interventions to supply human needs.

The Course

From its spectacular origin in the Batan Har mountains in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, at a height of over 15,000 feet, Yellow (still crystal clear at this point) picks a course north east through gorges and, later, grasslands. Entering the next plateau at the striking ‘first bend’, the river is joined by its first major tributary, the Bahe. Flowing eastwards through the Quinghai province, the first significant dam is situated at the Longyangxia reservoir, where close by is a gigantic solar energy park (so China doesn't use only coal?). The river then enters the world’s largest loess plateau. Wind blown dust creates immense amounts of silt like sediment that is picked up by the river to acquire its characteristic colour. Via inner Mongolia and Shanxi provinces the river broadens as it traverses flatter lands, and deposits much of the silt accumulated upstream. It eventually reaches the Bo Hai sea, part of the Yellow sea, with its estuary some 200 mils southwest of Beijing. The whole of this northeast China region is a network of waterways – natural and man made – to meet the demands of people, industry and agriculture.

History and Water Management.

Chinese history – to the present day – and water management are linked inextricably. The very  sediment that gives the river its name also gives rise to daunting problems of flooding and unpredictable course changes distally. ‘China’s sorrow’ is a moniker often applied to indicate this. The Xia dynasty, China’s most ancient, was founded by Yu the Great nearly 4,000 years ago. His power, allegedly, came from his success in controlling by irrigation the frequent flooding of the river. Successive dynasties strived to control the river and its challenges right up to the emergence of the People’s Republic of China in the mid 20th century. In the 1950s Mao T’se Tung made the first pronouncement regarding what is now the world’s largest water management project: “The south has plenty of water, the north much less. If possible the north should borrow a little”. Such a benign statement from such a ruthless leader belies the scale and complexity of the South to North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP)

SNWDP

A population of 1.4 billion, with industry and agriculture to match, makes serious demands for water. The challenges are compounded by uneven distribution and rainfall patterns. The densely populated north is at risk. Current President Xi Jinping reiterated the importance of this project as recently as 2021. As shown in the map, water is diverted via three routes. The longest established is the eastern route, from the Yangtze to Tianjin, crossing the Yellow en route. This is an extension of the Beijing-Hangzou Grand Canal, built almost 2,500 years ago. The central route – in operation since 2014 – diverts water from the Han tributary of the Yangtze to Beijing and Tianjin. The western route is the most controversial and its exact configuration is not yet finalised. The aim is to link the Yangtze and Yellow rivers way upstream on the plateaus. This is to ease water shortages in China’s more remote northern provinces, including Mongolia and Gansu, as well as in the north east. The upper rivers would need to be dammed to build up sufficient quantities for the diversions. The political (inside and outside China) and logistical challenges are considerable. You can imagine that China’s neighbours will be highly sensitive to any impact of this project to the delicate balances of the Tibetan Water Tower.

*The Loess Plateau is a plateau in north-central China formed of loess, a clastic silt-like sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. It derives from the German word Löss, "yellowish-grey soil."

5. The River Tagus

 

Tagus takes the long way to the sea

Introduction.

This is not a 'personal experience' river. In fact I knew nothing about it until realising how interesting it is. At 600+ miles, the River Tagus (Tajo in Spain, Tejo in Portugal) is the longest river of the Iberian peninsula. It arises in the mountains 90 miles from the east coast and only 60 miles east of Madrid. Its source is marked by a monument Nacimiento de Rio Tajo (Birth of the River Tagus) in the Sierra de Albarracin mountains - a small range with a highest point of 1600 metres. This may be only half the height of the peak of the Pyrenees, but is almost double the height of Englands highest peak, and is part of some of the most untamed terrain in the peninsula. Such is the watershed that instead of pursuing a short course to the Mediterranean, it wends its way tortuously six times further to empty into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon, officially 636 miles away. Thus the river nearly bisects Iberia, and does indeed bisect Portugal.

The Tagus initially travels south west, and for many miles marks the border between the regions ('autonomous communities' in todayspeak) of Aragon and Castile la Mancha. At the ancient city of Aranjuez it has a confluence with the river Jarama, one of its largest tributaries. The Jarama itself flows north to south, passing Madrid and the site of a fierce battle during the Spanish Civil war. Toledo is another city on the Tagus in the centre of Spain, some 50 miles south west of Madrid. The old city nestles in a large U-shaped bend in the river. It was famed for its cosmopolitanism until the ejection of the Jews in 1492 and Muslims in 1502.

West of Toledo the river is subject to major water management programmes with creations of dams and reservoirs providing vital supplies for domestic and agricultural use. The largest of these is Embalise de Alcantara - the dam at Alcantara - to the east of the border with Portugal. The dam is an enormous structure, completed in the late 1960s, creating Europe's second largest reservoir. As it continues westwards the river forms part of the border with Portugal, and flows through Portugal until it reaches the Bay of Biscay as a broad estuary that has made Lisbon such an economic and cultural hub over many centuries. Throughout its course the Tagus flows through spectacular scenery, historic towns and multiple precious sites of nature reserves, wildlife parks and wetlands.

The Future. With climate change, and increasing fears regarding the 'desertification' of southern Spain, the existence of the Tagus will be even more under pressure, as other smaller rivers become impermanent. At the other extreme the river, particularly the lower Tagus, is vulnerable to flooding and the extremities of climate change pose a different threat - exemplified by the catastrophic 2024 floods that affected the Valencia and Castile la Mancha areas. In 1979 central Portugal was badly damaged by flooding from the lower Tagus. Challenges posed by climatic extremes will be difficult to manage.

Spain Portugal Border. I've often wondered about this border. Looking generally at the large rectangle that comprises the Iberian peninsula below the Pyrenees, it seems curious to have another rectangle neatly slotted into its western and southern limits. It is a natural border, rather than the strict demarcation lines that separate, say, north from south Korea; or in the Middle East, or many of the states and provinces of North America. It seems that Portugal emerged as a sovereign nation in the 12th century CE with the Treaty of Zamora in 1143. For 150 years disputes and conflicts led to many adjustments, but pretty much what continues today was settled by the Treaty of Alcañices in 1297. The 750 miles border (to which the Tagus contributes a mere 30 or so miles) remains almost unchanged since- interrupted only by Spanish occupation 1580-1640 - making it one of Europe's oldest boundaries.

4. Rivers of Dorset

 This is another personal one, prompted by a recent visit to Dorset, which is my home county. We stayed in the picturesque village of Evershot - a few miles north of Dorchester. There, I found myself at the well that marks the source of the River Frome, which runs a south-easterly course for thirty miles before entering into the natural harbour of Poole.

The scenic hilly backbone of the Dorset Downs is chalk, starting from the Isle of Portland, whose stone is famous world wide and distributed in buildings through most cities in England. The chalk seams extend northwards but mostly to the east to become the South and North downs that extend to the cliffs of Dover. As a result, chalk streams abound in Dorset, encouraging distinctive flora and fauna.

St John's Well marks the source of the River Frome in Evershot, Dorset

River Frome takes pride of place - not because it's the longest in Dorset, but is the longest to run the the whole of its course (30 miles) within Dorset boundaries. From Evershot the stream grows as it wends its way through marshland just outside Dorchester -a historic town, with its Durnovaria Roman roots; even earlier Maiden Castle fortress and Prince Charles's more recent curious project Poundbury. Leaving Dorchester at its eastern limits, the Frome then passes through marshy low country to Wool, with numerous tributaries and distributaries. Finally, traversing Wareham, another of my favourite Dorset towns, it empties into Poole harbour. At no point in it's journey does the river pass through a town called Frome, unlike it's namesake in the neighbouring county of Somerset.

River Stour. At 69 miles, the Stour is definitely the longest river to traverse Dorset. The river's source is the more famous Stourhead, the magnificent Palladian House and Gardens in Wiltshire- now owned by the National Trust. In fact, the spring source is approx 1.5 miles from the house and gardens, whence it picks up two tributary streams, and grows as it flows south eastwards, passing underneath the A303 and crossing into Dorset near Bourton. It continues through Gillingham and Sturminster Newton  before reaching the lovely market town of Blandford Forum. In Anglo-Saxon times Blandford grew up as a river fording point across the river from Bryanston, which appeared in the Domesday book, but which is now much smaller than Blandford. The Stour continues south, and outside the town provides home for a virulent biting insect (known as the Blandford Fly) that occupies the rushes and weed beds in that area. It is joined by two significant tributaries - the Tarrant, and then at another picturesque town Wimborne Minster by the Allen - before gathering strength for its passage to the sea, which it enters at Christchurch Harbour. Christchurch used to be in Hampshire but following boundary changes is now part of Dorset.

River Piddle. The delightfully named Piddle has a more prosaic alternative name of Trent as it nears the sea, but flows for much of its 19 miles runs through the Piddle Valley. From a source just north of the village of Piddletrenthide it follows (or rather has created) a course somewhere between the Stour to its north, and the Frome to its south, through, or past, Piddlehinton, Puddletown, Tolpuddle - site of the Tolpuddle Martyrs monument to the Trades Union movement -Affpuddle and Briantspuddle.  It empties into Poole Harbour a little to the north of the Frome outlet, and opposite the RSPB peninsula of Arne.

River Wey. Only 7 miles long, this stream gets a mention for nostalgic and historic reasons (ahead of its longer and better known namesake the Thames tributary in Surrey). There is chalk ridge comprising the South Dorset Downs that separates Dorchester and Weymouth and the spring emerges from the lower part of this above Upwey. Near to the source at Friar Waddon a pumping station provides mains water to the Isle of Portland several miles away. From Upwey, with its (locally) well known wishing well, the stream flows through Broadwey and into Radipole Lake. This is just upstream from Weymouth Harbour is a RSPB reserve now designated as a SSSI. In Roman times it served as a reservoir for nearby Durnovaria (Dorchester). The picturesque Weymouth Harbour is also the outlet for the freshwater of the river into the English Channel. The whole course of the Wey lies in the sprawl of Weymouth today, but in the past the river was the divide between Weymouth village and Melcombe Regis. The latter acquired its suffix by being a favourite holiday home for King George III. As a consequence of this patronage, the seaside resort of Weymouth boasts a large statue of George III; an impressive Georgian crescentic esplanade and the Osmington White Horse - a huge figure of the King on horseback carved in the chalky hills outside Weymouth. 

3 - The River Meuse

The River Meuse

After two generic posts as background for this series, I had to think a bit about which individual river to start with – whether to go for one close to home or particularly well known to me; whether to one completely unknown to me with the incentive to learn about it; or whether to go straight for one of the behemoths…. Amazon, Nile, Mississippi etc. I chose the Meuse as it has something of all of these. OK, so at 575 miles it’s hardly a behemoth, even by European standards (Danube and Volga three times longer), but it a major waterway, rich in history and political significance. It has personal relevance for me after multiple visits to Belgium and eastern France, often pursuing events there during two world wars.

The Bones

The name derives from the French version of a latin word Mosa, arising in turn from the celtic name Mosā, possibly the origin of our word ‘maze’ describing the river’s twists and turns through the Ardennes.

The river follows a northerly course, arising in peaceful country of the Langres plateau in central France. Low mountain ranges and uplands provide a watershed for the widening river’s course through Neufchateau and onwards to Verdun.

From there it continues through Sedan (see below) and enters Belgium at the border town of Givet cutting a dramatic swathe through the Ardennes region towards the sea. As it reaches Namur there is confluence with its largest tributary the Sambre. Turning east it reaches the city of Liege, whence it broadens out and turns north again to reach Maastricht, which sits at the borders of Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. Continuing north the river is now the Maas and for some distance is the physical border between Netherlands and Germany. Then, parting company with the border, it spreads out in the flatlands and merges with distributaries from the Rhine in a complex delta system serving both Rotterdam and Antwerp before it reaches the North Sea via two main estuaries – the Hollands Diep and the Haringvliet.

Having arisen in idyllic and bucolic surroundings, the Meuse (maas) terminates in one of the world’s most manged waterway systems, developed and protected by numerous locks, dams and flood barriers.

History and Politics

(i) Lotharingia

When Charlemagne dominated Europe in the 8th century, he united most of central and western Europe. He died in 814, and the challenges of controlling such diverse regions of Frankish, Germanic and Lombardic peoples fell to lesser mortals. His son Louis the Pious (!) held things together, but determined that each of his three sons should inherit a proportion of the empire. By the Treaty of Verdun in 843, came the creation of Western and Eastern Francia, separated by a central region of middle Francia, soon known as Lotharingia after its ruler King Lothar. This unstable buffer zone between the larger kingdoms of West and East Francia was never going to withstand the tensions between despotic leaders. For centuries, from the time of Charlemagne, through the Middle Ages, to the later era of the Holy Roman Empire , the Meuse (along with its larger easterly neighbour the Rhine) frequently was the natural border between different kingdoms and aspiring empires. Huge strongholds such as Verdun, Sedan and Namur consistently featured as key strategic control targets, notably in the Spanish Succession and Napoleonic wars.

(ii) Sedan

It may feature in common parlance as a type of motor car, or a ridiculous type of chair, but the town’s association with the River Meuse and European military events is much more significant.

In 1870, during the early stages of a potentially titanic struggle between France’s Second Empire and Bismarck’s Prussian dominated Germany, the war was decided abruptly at Sedan. The Meuse was a key defensive line for the French, with an enormous medieval fort dominating Sedan as a focal point that seemed impregnable. The strength became a fatal weakness as the Prussian army, led by von Moltke, launched a huge encirclement of Sedan, utilising key crossing points on the river, and seizing high ground to the west of the town. The French Emperor Napoleon 3rd and his army were now trapped against the river and were soon forced to surrender, leading to the rapid demise of the Second Empire, national humiliation and the loss of Alsace Lorraine,

Seventy years later in May 1940 the French were caught out again at Sedan as German blitzkrieg tactics bypassed France’s Maginot line by attacking through the Ardennes. This ‘Manstein Plan’ had German Panzer divisions  - led by Generals Rommel and Guderian  amongst others – crossing the Meuse at Sedan and soon breaking through to the open country of eastern France. The Battle of France was lost by the hosts. Yet four years later, as Europe was being liberated, Sedan and the Meuse were again involved as the scene for stopping and reversing the final German counter-attack in the Battle of the Bulge.

Finally……

I’ve barely mentioned Verdun, whose status as an icon of French resilience is attested to by actions on left and right banks of the Meuse over the centuries.

Eight years ago on one of my trips to Verdun, I stayed at the impressive Chateau des Monthairons, just off the Voie Sacrée and a few miles south of Verdun itself. The Chateau is right on the river, which at the time of my visit in early spring was swollen almost to bursting. The presence and power of the river were remarkable. And within a couple of days all the water would be lost in the North Sea!