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Why can sandbars near the Yellow Riverās mouth make navigation difficult?
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Yellow River
The Yellow River (Huang He) basin and the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) basin and their drainage networks.
Navigation near the mouth of the Yellow River is difficult because of a sandbar that restricts water depth.1
At low tide, the depth over the bar is insufficient for boats drawing more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) of water. While the depth increases to 8 or 9 feet (2.4 or 2.7 meters) at high tide, the presence of this sediment accumulation remains a significant obstacle for vessels. This condition is a result of the river's massive sediment load, as the Yellow River carries the highest concentration of silt of any river in the world, which settles as the river's velocity decreases upon reaching the sea.12