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When did the Yellow River shift to its present northern course?
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Yellow River
The Yellow River (Huang He) basin and the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) basin and their drainage networks.
The Yellow River has shifted its course across the North China Plain multiple times throughout its history due to the accumulation of silt in its riverbed, which causes the stream to seek lower ground.12
Regarding its northern path, the river shifted to the north of the Shandong Peninsula during the 1850s, eventually settling into its present course. Prior to this, the river had occupied a more southerly route for over 500 years, entering the Yellow Sea south of the peninsula.2