Circulation is different from simple mobility, inasmuch as it implies a double movement of going forth and coming back, which can be repeated indefinitely. In circulating, things, men, and notions often transform themselves. Circulation is therefore a value-loaded term which implies an incremental aspect and not the simple reproduction across space of already formed structures and notions. Roman conquest made the world much bigger, and administrators, soldiers, traders, all had a contribution to make by their differently determined mobilities to showing how these radical changes of scale might be understood.
Theoretical geography was one discourse within this complex process, but religious self-expression had a potent role too. Its workings depended on an asymmetric reciprocity between Romans and provincials. And that seems to me to be clearly illustrated by the intricate role in the construction of imperial space played by the rivers of the western provinces.
History , Tucson, p. Roma in Italia , Turin, p.
Derks a Gods, temples and ritual practices , p. Piot , 48, p. Review , 27, p. Catalogo della mostra Torino, 8 febbraio-7 maggio , Turin. The procession of peoples and rivers on the shield of Aeneas and the triple triumph of Octavian in 29 B. Environment, culture and power, in J. Great Britain and early colonial India, , in Markovits et al.
Greco-Roman explorations of the Atlantic , London. Glotz , 6, p. Other examples are known: CIL II , cf.
Gallazzi, Settis ; Gallazzi et al. Le Nil et le Tanais ont une importance cosmographique: I have addressed related questions at Purcell, a and b; See now the excellent account of Frisone which relates rivers to the formation of complex cultural horizons in new settlements. Romans sometimes imposed Latin hydronyms: III 38, 28 cis… magis localem habet significationem ut Cisalpina Gallia et cis Rhenum ; 40, 26 invenio quod propriis nominibus fluminum vel montium cis solet praeponi plerumque, reliquis vero magis citra.
Bibulus qui pedem porta quoad hostis cis Euphratem fuit non extulerit ; Fam. For the Po in the definition of a quaestorian provincia , Plutarch, Sert. Dionysius 1, 9, 2 the Aborigines and Pelasgians founded a state bounded by the Tiber and the Liris. See also Edney, For the Antiochene canals, Pausanias 8, 29, 3: Strabo 4, 18; Plutarch, Marius 15, 4. The co-evolution of improvements, tolls and economic vigour is the subject of the model study by Higounet, on the medieval Garonne.
Note the admirable breadth of the work of Hoffmann, involving hydraulic landscapes, water-control, dietary change, technology, the macrohistory of aquatic biology, and the watermill , which has been influential in North American environmental history. See Coles for interesting thoughts on the environmental context of river-onomastics in a wide geographical setting. Verger, ; Scheid, , Derks, a, b. Lecturer in Ancient History University of Oxford nicholas. From the Baetis to the Ocean. Hydraulic landscapes and their inhabitants. A question of confluences: Dionysius 1, 9, 2 the Aborigines and Pelasgians founded a state bounded by For the Antiochene canals, Pausanias 8, The co-evolution of improvement Note the admirable breadth of the work of Hoffmann, involving hydraulic See Coles for interesting thoughts on the Our 19th century downtowns and historic neighborhoods were set out on sandy, level terraces deposited in that glacial lake more than 10, years ago.
Small villages and even our largest urban centers are integrated with the natural landscape. Migratory waterfowl still return along river routes as they have for millennia, reminding us of our place in the scheme of things. Somewhere among our scenic vistas and intimate environments is a habitat for you. As you travel through the Byway region, you are in the northern portion of a wildlife refuge that takes in the entire Connecticut River watershed.
Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge covers 7. The Conte Refuge is based on partnerships between the federal agency and states, communities, and private organizations to protect fish and wildlife habitats and natural diversity. However, due to statistical discrepancies, water and soil loss, and climate change, there are currently only an estimated 22, rivers remaining.
The majority of rivers flow west to east into the Pacific Ocean. The Yangtze is 6, kilometers long and has a catchment area of 1. It is the third longest river in the world, after the Amazon and the Nile. It rises in Tibet and travels circuitously for 5, kilometers through North China , it empties into the Bo Hai Gulf on the north coast of the Shandong Province.
It has a catchment area of , square kilometers. The Heilongjiang Heilong or Black Dragon River flows for 3, kilometers in Northeast China and an additional 1, kilometers in Russia , where it is known as the Amur. Other major rivers are the Liaohe in the northeast, Haihe in the north, Qiantang in the east, and Lancang in the southwest.
Inland drainage involving upland basins in the north and northeast accounts for 40 percent of the country's total drainage area. Many rivers and streams flow into lakes or diminish in the desert. Some are used for irrigation.
China's territorial waters are principally marginal seas of the western Pacific Ocean. These waters lie on the indented coastline of the mainland and approximately 5, islands. More than half the coastline, predominantly in the south, is rocky; most of the remainder is sandy. The Bay of Hangzhou roughly divides the two kinds of shoreline. There is a steep drop in the river level in the North China Plain , where the river continues across the delta, it transports a heavy load of sand and mud which is deposited on the flat plain.
The flow is aided by manmade embankments. As a result, the river flows on a raised ridge fifty meters above the plain.
Waterlogging, floods, and course changes have recurred over the centuries. Traditionally, rulers were judged by their concern for or indifference to preservation of the embankments. Flowing from its source in the Qingzang highlands, the Yellow River courses toward the sea through the North China Plain , the historic center of Chinese expansion and influence.
Han Chinese people have farmed the rich alluvial soils since ancient times, constructing the Grand Canal for north-south transport during the Imperial Era. The plain is a continuation of the Dongbei Manchurian Plain to the northeast but is separated from it by the Bohai Gulf , an extension of the Yellow Sea. Like other densely populated areas of China, the plain is subject to floods and earthquakes. The Hai River , like the Pearl River , flows from west to east. Its upper course consists of five rivers that converge near Tianjin , then flow seventy kilometers before emptying into the Bohai Gulf.
It is a cultural boundary as it influences the distribution of customs and language. South of the Qinling mountain range divide are the densely populated and highly developed areas of the lower and middle plains of the Yangtze River and, on its upper reaches, the Sichuan Basin , an area encircled by a high barrier of mountain ranges. The country's longest and most important waterway, the Yangtze River, is navigable for the majority of its length and has a vast hydroelectric potential.
Roughly million people live along its middle and lower reaches. The area is a large producer of rice and wheat. The Sichuan Basin, due to its mild, humid climate and long growing season, produces a variety of crops. It is a leading silk -producing area and an important industrial region with substantial mineral resources.
The Nanling Mountains , the southernmost of the east-west mountain ranges, overlook areas in China with a tropical climate. The climate allows two crops of rice to be grown per year. Southeast of the mountains lies a coastal, hilly region of small deltas and narrow valley plains. The drainage area of the Pearl River and its associated network of rivers occupies much of the region to the south. West of the Nanling, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau rises in two steps, averaging 1, and 1, m in elevation, respectively, toward the precipitous mountain regions of the eastern Qingzang Plateau.
Other major minerals are aluminum , bauxite , coal , crude petroleum , diamonds , gold , iron ore , lead , magnetite , manganese , mercury , molybdenum , natural gas , phosphate rock , tin , uranium , and vanadium. Based on estimates, China lies in two of the world's major ecozones , the Palearctic and the Indomalaya. In the Palearctic zone mammals such as the horse , camel , and jerboa are found. Among the species found in the Indomalaya region are the leopard cat , bamboo rat , treeshrew , and various other species of monkeys and apes. Some overlap exists between the two regions because of natural dispersal and migration, and deer or antelope, bears, wolves, pigs, and rodents are found in all of the diverse climatic and geological environments.
The famous giant panda is found only in a limited area along the Yangtze. There is a continuing problem with trade in endangered species , although there are now laws to prohibit such activities. Chinese history is often explained in terms of several strategic areas, defined by particular topographic limits. Starting from the Chinese central plain , the former heart of the Han populations, the Han people expanded militarily and then demographically toward the Loess Plateau , the Sichuan Basin , and the Southern Hills as defined by the map on the left , not without resistance from local populations.
Pushed by its comparatively higher demographic growth, the Han continued their expansion by military and demographic waves. The far-south of present-day China, the northern parts of today's Vietnam, and the Tarim Basin were first reached and durably subdued by the Han dynasty 's armies. The Northern steppes were always the source of invasions into China, which culminated in the 13th century by Mongolian conquest of the whole China and creation of Mongolian Yuan dynasty. Manchuria , much of today's Northeast China , and Korean Peninsula were usually not under Chinese control, with the exception of some limited periods of occupation.
Manchuria became strongly integrated into the Chinese empire during the late Qing dynasty , while the west side of the Changbai Mountains , formerly the home of Korean tribes, thus also entered China. The demographic occupation follows the topography and availability of former arable lands.
The Heihe—Tengchong Line , running from Heihe , Heilongjiang to Tengchong County , Yunnan divides China into two roughly equal sections—in terms of geographic area, with areas west of the line being sparsely settled and areas east densely populated, in general. China's economy has recently become export-oriented. The coastal provinces got the greatest benefits from the recent development of China's economy, becoming the new economic center of China.
The Chinese leadership has long encouraged a move inland, and in , following the western crisis, the top leadership announced a policy to redirect Chinese production toward the national market.