THE ENVIRONMENTAL-EFFECTS OF THE UPLIFT OF THE QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU

The intense upheaval of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau took place 2 Ma BP. The terraces of the Yellow River in the Lanzhou Region and its upper sections provide a record of the uplift of the Plateau. The interaction of glaciation cycles resulting from climatic changes and pulsating tectonic upheavals are both involved in the record of environmental change across the Plateau. Three tectonic-climatic events which are termed respectively the Qinghai-Xizang Movement, the Huanghe (Yellow River) Movement and the Gonghe Movement occurred 2-1.5, 1.0 and 0.15 Ma BP. The upheaval of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau was the trigger mechanism of the Asian Monsoon. The Loess Plateau was formed in the monsoon triangle of east Asia. Human origins and human evolution may have been stimulated by the uplift of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.