Abstract:

The influence of the changes of ancient river channel on the cultural sites in the Yellow River Basin is one of the important scientific issues in the study of the Yellow River culture.Bayannur National Geopark in Inner Mongolia is located in the Hetao Plain in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River.The location of the Linrong ancient city in the park has been debated for decades.The relative position of the ancient Yellow River channel to the Linrong ancient city is a key to locate the ancient city.The grid groove drilling was carried out within 10 km around the Linrong ancient city in Bayannur National Geopark.Three-dimensional grain size model and sedimentary structure model were constructed to visualize the hidden ancient channel based on the borehole data.Then the structure and age of the ancient channel are verified through analyzing the sedimentary facies of the drilled cores and by the chronology data.The results show that the ancient Yellow River channel which flow from south to north from 2.39±0.24 ka to 1.36±0.05 Cal ka BP is located 3 km to the west of Linrong ancient city in Bayannur National Geopark.The relative position of ancient Yellow River and the towns in Shuofang County are consistent with the historical documentation.This study provides geological evidence for locating the Linrong ancient city in Bayannur National Geopark based on the study of sedimentology.

Key words: Bayannur National Geopark, palaeo channel of the Yellow River, Linrong ancient city, 3D visualizationtechnology