28 THE GROWTH OF THE YANGTZE DELTA 



A boring on the Bubbling Well Eoad, Shanghai, carried 

 out by various interested persons and already described in 

 the "Transactions of the Engineering Society" reached a 

 depth of 420 feet, approximately -406 feet W.H.Z. Pebbles 

 were encountered at a depth of 228. 



These facts bear out Mr. Ting's assumption that this 

 region has undergone subsidence but that the deposits by the 

 Yangtze have been more than enough to counterbalance the 

 ultimate sinking. 



Submarine Banks on the China Coast Outside the Delta. 



The growth of the great central Plain of China is of 

 course, the combined work of the two risers, the Yangtze 

 and the Huangho (Yellow Eiver). 



The configuration of the bottom of the sea and coast 

 outside the actual coastline is telling a very plain tale. 

 What actual principles can be laid down for the delta building 

 is doubtful. See Plate 6. 



Historical Records of the Ancient Mouths 

 of the Yangtze. 



There were various statements as to the ancient mouths 

 of the Yangtze, mentioned in the old "Yukung" written 

 4,000 years ago, but there are no records clearly defining 

 what was meant by these mouths and the present topography 

 of the delta does not warrant a definite theory corroborating 

 any of the old statements which were delightfully vague as 

 to the details of the situation. See Plate 4. Later, Chinese 

 writers have explained this in several ways: — 



1. — Those who believed that the Yangtze divided some- 

 where near Wuhu or Taipingfu, one branch coming down 

 the present channel of the Yangtze and the other two through 

 the depressions between the Nanking hills and the hills to 

 the west of Tai Hu. 



A continuous water communication from Wuhu to- the 

 Tai Hu via Tungpa in Kaochun does exist through an arti- 

 ficial channel from Kaochun to Liyang. The passage is cut 

 through a loess barrier, and Mr. Ting after an examination 

 of this region states that no arm of the Kiang however 

 small could possibly have gone, through here without leaving 

 recognisable signs of its presence. 



