|
North Korea Topography and Drainage
Early European visitors to Korea remarked that the country
resembled "a sea in a heavy gale" because of the many successive
mountain ranges that crisscross the peninsula
(see
fig. 3). Some
80 percent of North Korea's land area is composed of mountains
and uplands, with all of the peninsula's mountains with
elevations of 2,000 meters or more located in North Korea. The
great majority of the population lives in the plains and
lowlands.
The land around Paektu-san near the China border is volcanic
in origin and includes a basalt lava plateau with elevations of
between 1,400 and 2,000 meters above sea level. The Hamgyng
Range, located in the extreme northeastern part of the peninsula,
has many high peaks including Kwanmo-san at approximately 1,756
meters. Other major ranges include the Nangnim Range, which is
located in the north-central part of North Korea and runs in a
north-south direction, making communication between the eastern
and western parts of the country rather difficult; and the
Kangnam Range, which runs along the North Korea-China border.
K mgang-san, or Diamond Mountain, (approximately 1,638 meters) in
the T'aebaek Range, which extends into South Korea, is famous for
its scenic beauty.
For the most part, the plains are small. The most extensive
are the P'yongyang and Chaeryng plains, each covering about 500
square kilometers. Because the mountains on the east coast drop
abruptly to the sea, the plains are even smaller there than on
the west coast.
The mountain ranges in the northern and eastern parts of
North Korea form the watershed for most of its rivers, which run
in a westerly direction and empty into the Yellow Sea (Korea
Bay). The longest is the Yalu River, which is navigable for 678
of its 790 kilometers. The Tumen River, one of the few major
rivers to flow into the Sea of Japan, is the second longest at
521 kilometers but is navigable for only 85 kilometers because of
the mountainous topography. The third longest river, the Taedong
River, flows through P'yongyang and is navigable for 245 of its
397 kilometers. Lakes tend to be small because of the lack of
glacial activity and the stability of the earth's crust in the
region. Unlike neighboring Japan or northern China, North Korea
experiences few severe earthquakes. The country is well-endowed
with spas and hot springs, which number 124 according to one
North Korean source.
Data as of June 1993
|
