REVIEWS OF THE YELLOW RIVER DELTA SUPERLOBES SINCE 700 BC

The distributary channel system which shows that the old Yellow River delta in Mengcun belongs to the upper delta plain of the Qikou delta superlobe (700 BC to AD 11). Most of the channel system is much younger than the underlying undersea delta deposits, which belong to other two older delta superlobes. The coast from the Dakou River to the Tuhai River mouth in the northernmost Shandong Province was affected many times by the Yellow River from 700 BC to AD 1099. The land was mainly formed in 893—1048. The islandchain shaped shell ridges along the coast were formed after AD 1128. A great area behind the shell ridges has been eroded by wave and tidal currents. It shows that the delta plain lower than the adjacent area experienced such processes after the delta superlobe was abandoned. The southern boundary of Northern Jiangsu delta superlobe of the Yellow River lies at Jianggang, Jiangsu Province. The viewpoint of the first great channel shifting occurring in 602 BC should not be accepted. This viewpoint has been given up by historical geographers.