Dadu
Dadu is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 31.11°, 101.88°
About Dadu
The Dadu River (Chinese: 大渡河; pinyin: Dàdù Hé; Wade–Giles: Tatu Ho, Yi: ꍩꍠꒉꄿ, romanized: Chot Zhyr Yy Dda), known in Tibetan as the Gyelmo Ngul Chu (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་མོ་རྔུལ་ཆུ་, Wylie: rgyal mo rngul chu), is a major river located primarily in Sichuan province, southwestern China. The Dadu flows from the eastern Tibetan Plateau into the Sichuan Basin where it joins with the Min River, a tributary of the Yangtze River. Measured from its geographic source, the Dadu is actually longer than the Min River, with a total length of 1,076 km (669 mi) and thus forms the main stem of the Min River system.
Shuangjiangkou Dam, expected to be the tallest dam in the world, is being built on the Dadu River.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Dadu River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Dadu in Depth
Geography
The Dadu River originates, in name, in Danba and ends in Leshan where it meets the Min River. The true source of Dadu, and thus the entire Min River system, however, lies in Qinghai Province in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. In this region there are multiple headwaters of the Dadu with nearly identical lengths that have resulted in competing claims as the true source of the Dadu. In 2013, the China Academy of Sciences announced they had located the geographic source of the Dadu in eastern Darlag County, Qinghai (33°23′16″N 100°17′32″E). These headwaters (Chinese: 马尔曲; pinyin: Mǎ'ěr Qū) are a tributary of the Markog (Chinese: 玛柯河; pinyin: Mǎkē Hé), one of the two main upper stems of the Dadu along with the Darkog (Chinese: 杜柯河; pinyin: Dùkē Hé).
History
The Dadu River marks the transition area between traditional Tibet to the west and historic China to the east. For this reason, it has long been considered a frontier region and has hosted many conflicts. For Tibetans, the Dadu is part of the historical province of Kham. In the Chinese tradition, the Dadu forms the westernmost part of Sichuanese culture. Kangding, a historical trading post between Tibet and China, is located in the Dadu River basin.
Upper Dadu River Basin traditionally consists of 18 rGyalrong Principalities, whose language, rGyalrongic, is a distinct branch in the Tibeto-Burman language family.
Completed in 803 CE, the Leshan Giant Buddha is a large statue carved into the rock at the confluence of the Dadu and Min Rivers. The Buddha is a popular tourist attraction today.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Dadu River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Dadu: Key Facts
| Length | 642 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 92,000 km² |
| Source | Jiaomuzu River |
| Mouth | Min River |
| Drainage system | Yangtze River basin |
| Tributaries | Qingyi River, Nanya River, Niuri River, Xiaojin River, Geshizha River, Donggu River |
Facts from Wikidata Q1075393 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Dadu: Quick Answers
- Where is Dadu?
- Dadu is located in China, at 31.1116° N, 101.8799° E.
- Are there dams on the Dadu?
- No dam on the Dadu is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.