Why has the Yellow River changed course so often in history?

The Yellow River has historically changed its course due to its unique hydrology and the massive amount of silt it carries. As the river flows onto the North China Plain, its gradient and velocity decrease, causing suspended sediment to settle and build up the riverbed. When the bed becomes elevated, the river naturally shifts to occupy a lower level, leading to radical changes in its path toward the Yellow Sea.1

The river’s instability is exacerbated by the Loess Plateau, which contributes the highest sediment load of any river in the world, much of it being loose, easily eroded loess. While humans have constructed extensive levees to stabilize the channel and protect against floods, these efforts have often had the unintended consequence of confining the river and elevating the bed further. Consequently, when these artificial barriers are breached, the resulting channel shifts and flooding events are often more dramatic and destructive than they would be in an unimpeded state.12