A STUDY ON THE ZHUYE LAKE AND ITS HISTORICAL EVOLUTION
猪野泽及其历史变迁考

Zhuye Paleo-take was an abandoned terminal lake of the ancient Shiyang River which was at the northern foot of Qilian Mountain. It was quite well-known in history. Applying some new methods, this paper studies the extent of the Zhuye Paleo-lake and its historical evolution- 1. A restoration of the extent of the Zhuye Paleo-lake. 1) The extent of the zhuye Paleo-lake were determined by using satellite images. It's area is about 525km2 2) considering each factor in the water quantity balance within the Shiyan River Valley, the author drew up a formula to estimate the water budget and estimated the area of the abandoned terminal lake to be more than 500km2; 3) By analysing the 'opography and the deposits, the area of the terminal lake was found to be about 540km2 whichis quite close to be above-mentioned estimation. 2. The Zhuye Lake's historical evolution. Since the large-scale exploitation during the western Han Dynasty, under the strong influence of human activities, the Zhuye Paleo-lake underwest the great changes- In the mid-300's the Lake's area was reluced by about 50%. In the mid-1700's it was reduced again by 50%. In mid-1950's it was dried up.