Ancient Loulan City was situated at the northwestern corner of the Lop Nor in Xinjiang. There are different views on the cause and course of its declination. In the present paper, the authors discuss this problem from...Ancient Loulan City was situated at the northwestern corner of the Lop Nor in Xinjiang. There are different views on the cause and course of its declination. In the present paper, the authors discuss this problem from the angle of environmental geology, analyzing changes of ancient river courses in the Loulan area by using spatial remote sensing techniques and reading satellite photos. They conclude that the fall of Loulan was due to landslide and collapse in the upper Konqi River valley where the city was located, which led to the blockage of rivers, the formation of barrier lakes and the cut-off of Loulan's water-supplying sources. As a result, the city was abandoned and finally vanished.展开更多
文摘Ancient Loulan City was situated at the northwestern corner of the Lop Nor in Xinjiang. There are different views on the cause and course of its declination. In the present paper, the authors discuss this problem from the angle of environmental geology, analyzing changes of ancient river courses in the Loulan area by using spatial remote sensing techniques and reading satellite photos. They conclude that the fall of Loulan was due to landslide and collapse in the upper Konqi River valley where the city was located, which led to the blockage of rivers, the formation of barrier lakes and the cut-off of Loulan's water-supplying sources. As a result, the city was abandoned and finally vanished.
