Testing Contrasting Models of the Formation of the Upper Yellow River Using Heavy‐Mineral Data From the Yinchuan Basin Drill Cores

The upper Yellow River drains the central and northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Understanding the origin of this river is essential for unraveling the interplay between fluvial incision, basement uplift, and climate change. However, the formation age of the upper Yellow River is highly debated, with estimates ranging from Eocene to late Pleistocene. In order to clarify the history of the upper Yellow River, we present a heavy‐mineral dataset from drill core in the Yinchuan Basin, a depositional sink at the end of the upper Yellow River course. Our results reveal that the drainage area of the upper Yellow River (i.e., northeastern Tibetan Plateau) has been serving as a major sediment source region for the Yinchuan Basin since at least 3.3 Ma. A late Pleistocene formation of the upper Yellow River, and erosion of neighboring deserts or bounding mountains as an explanation for thick sediment accumulations in this area, is thus ruled out. The Yellow River, the sixth longest in the world, is often called “the cradle of Chinese civilization.” However, due to high sediment loads, it often flows above the level of surrounding farm fields in the Yinchuan‐Hetao Basin, the depositional zone of the upper Yellow River. Catastrophic flooding has occurred several times here in the recent past. Thus, the river is also called “China's Sorrow.” Understanding where the vast amount of sediments in the Yinchuan‐Hetao Basin came from would help to guide river management. Here we present a first investigation of sediment sources in the Yinchuan Basin using heavy‐mineral data of long drill cores spanning the last 3.3 million years. Our results suggest that the majority of the sediments in this region were transported from the northeastern Tibetan Plateau by the upper Yellow River and not from erosion of the neighboring deserts/drylands or mountains. Only during the last 10,000 years might human activities have increased erosion of neighboring deserts/drylands, causing a provenance shift. We present provenance evidence for establishment of the upper Yellow River since at least the late PlioceneThe evidence from the Yinchuan Basin drill core supports a prolonged history of the upper Yellow RiverThe sediments in the Yinchuan Basin were transported from the northeastern Tibetan Plateau mainly by the Yellow River