FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ZHUJIANG DELTA

The fundamental conditions and basic process for the formation of the Zhujiang (Pearl River) Delta are similar to those of most of the deltas. Their localities are all in the submerged regions of the crustal structure, the shallow estuary results from transgression, the fluviatile runoff flowing into the sea and the silt discharge are large, the destructive energy of waves and the coastal current is small, silt accumulates rapidly, the depositional fabric is zonally distributed horizontally, and the corresponding sequence occurs vertically. Because the original Zhujiang Estuary stretched up to the continent about 160 km, the silt discharge of the Zhujiang River is now relatively small, as compared with the rivers famous for their deltas stretching into the sea. Therefore, the Zhujiang Delta is still developing inside the estuary, and thus is called the filling delta. Thanks to the long history and culture as well as the kaleidoscope-like ancient literature of the Chinese people, reliable pieces of evidence are offered for identification of the evolutional history of the modem delta.