| Daba Mountains | |
|---|---|
| Dabashan | |
 On top of the Shennong Peak | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,105 m (10,187 ft) |
| Prominence | Shennong Ding |
| Naming | |
| Native name | 大巴山 (Chinese) |
| Geography | |
  Daba Mountains Location of Daba Mountains | |
| Daba Mountains | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Morning in Xiqiuwan inBadong County | |||||||||
| Chinese | 大巴山 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | GreatBa Mountain(s) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
TheDaba Mountains, also known by theirChinese name as theDabashan,[a] are a mountain range in Central China between the watersheds of theYellow andYangtze Rivers. Part of the largerQinling mountain range, it cuts through four provinces:Sichuan,Chongqing,Shaanxi, andHubei. It spans about 1,000 kilometers (620 mi).
The Daba Mountains run in the general west-northwest to east-southeast direction, along the border between, on the one side (southwest and south)Sichuan andChongqing, and on the other side (northeast and north)Shaanxi andHubei. The mountains ofShennongjia are often considered the easternmost section of the Daba Range.
The southern slope of the Daba Mountains drains into theSichuan Basin or directly into the Yangtze via short streams that flow into the river in theThree Gorges area, such as theShen Nong Stream. The northern side drains into theHan River, a major tributary of the Yangtze, which, however, does not join the Yangtze until some hundreds kilometers to the east (inWuhan).
The Daba Mountains' highest points are in the Shennongjiamassif inShennongjia Forest District. The three tallest peaks, located west ofMuyu town, are Shennong Deng ("Shennong Peak", 3,105 meters (10,187 ft) elevation), Da Shennongjia ("Great Shennongjia", 3,052 meters (10,013 ft)), and Xiao Shennongjia ("Lesser Shennongjia", 3,005 meters (9,859 ft), on the district's border withBadong County). Laojun Shan, 2,936 meters (9,633 ft) tall, is located northeast of Muyu.
In the southeast, the Daba Mountains are joined to theWu Mountains, which block the Yangtze's flow out of theSichuan Basin. In the east, the smallJingshan Range (in the southern part of theXiangyang Prefecture) can be viewed as the extreme extension of the Daba Mountains. In the northeast, theWudang Mountains are nearby; some authors even consider them a "branch" of the Daba Mountains.[2]
In the rural counties of southernHanzhong, in Shaanxi Province, there is a large area ofkarst with some of the largestsinkholes in the world, known as theShaanxi tiankeng cluster or "Hanzhong tiankeng group". It covers nearly 5019 square kilometers[3] and is located in four counties,Ningqiang County,Nanzheng County,Xixiang County, andZhenba County, with the largest sinkhole (520 meters in diameter and 320 meters deep), near Sanyuanzhen (三元镇) in Zhenba County.[4]
The natural landscape of the region, theDaba Mountains evergreen forests, is listed by theWorld Wildlife Fund (WWF) as one of the world's200 ecoregions that should be a priority for conservation.[5]Dabashan National Nature Reserve is located in the Chongqing part of the Daba Mountains (Chengkou County); Shennongjia Mountain Nature Reserve (704 square kilometers (272 sq mi)[5]), inHubei (Shennongjia Forestry District).
TheDawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is a deciduous conifer endemic to the Daba Shan, whose nearest living relatives are theCoast Redwood andGiant Sequoia of California. Redwoods formerly ranged across the northern hemisphere, but were thought to be extinct outside California until stands of Dawn Redwood were discovered in the Daba Shan in the 1940s.[5]
Flora of the Daba Mountains
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Presently, terraced agriculture is expanded in the Daba Mountains. A widely planted cash crop is theEucommia tree, a medicinal plant.[6]
32°00′N109°30′E / 32.000°N 109.500°E /32.000; 109.500
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