| Hantan River | |
|---|---|
 (near Goseokjeong (고석정)) | |
 Hantan River | |
| Location | |
| Country | South Korea (KOR), North Korea (PRK) |
| Provinces | Gangwon (KOR), Gyeonggi (KOR), Pyonggang (PRK) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Pyonggang (PRK) |
| Mouth | Imjin River |
• location | Northwestern tip of Gimpo peninsula, KOR-PRK border[1] |
| Length | 508 km (316 mi)[2] |
| Basin size | 35,770 km2 (13,810 sq mi)[2] |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Dalcheon, Cheongmicheon, Bokhacheon, Gyeongancheon, Anyangcheon, Ara Canal † |
| • right | Seom River, Bukhan River, Jungnangcheon, Gongneungcheon, Rimjin River |
| † : Distributary of Han | |
| Han River | |
| Hangul | 한강 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Han(-)gang |
| McCune–Reischauer | Han'gang |
'Hantangang(漢灘江) is a river that flows through the central and western volcanic region of the Korean Peninsula. It originates in Pyonggang County and passes through Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Cheorwon-gun to Yeoncheon-gun Jeongok-eup and Misan-myeon It joins the Imjin River between (Yeoncheon-gun)|Misan-myeon. The total length is 136 km.[3] The river crosses the North Korean/South Korean border.
Cheorwon Plain edit
Cheorwon Plain is an area along the river basins of the Imjin River and Hantangang River and was formed by volcanic activity. One reason why many migratory birds use this area as a wintering place is because warm water gushes from the ground in winter and does not freeze, making it easy to find food.[4]
The plain was a fierce battleground in the Korean War, and with the ceasefire in 1953, it was designated as a civilian control area. With no humans permitted to use it, the area reverted to grass and shrubland. With marshlands and grasslands it became an important feeding and resting place for migratory birds.[4]
Origin and History edit
The Hantangang River has been called Hanyeoul, meaning large rapids, and there is still a Hannyeoul village in Jeongok-eup. In old records, it was recorded as Daetan (大灘, large rapids), and it was later called Hantangang River. There is also a theory that during the Later Three Kingdoms period, Later Goguryeo's Gungye saw the basalt around this river and lamented that the country would soon be destroyed, so it was called Hantangang River.
Jeongok-eup in the Hantangang River basin is where the 38 th parallel passes and was the site of a fierce battle during the Korean War.[5]
During the Korean War, about 3,200 UN soldiers were infected with nephrotic syndrome hemorrhagic fever, and hundreds died. In 1976 Lee Ho-wang and others discovered the Hantaan virus, the virus that causes this disease, and named for the Hantan river, where the disease vector (a rat) was found.[6][7]
Geography·Geology edit
The Hantangang River passes through a mountainous area where there was volcanic activity in the Cenozoic Era and Quaternary, and Canyons and Cliffs are developed. In the past, volcanic activity occurred in this area and a large amount of basalt covered the Hantangang River area, forming the Cheorwon-Pyeonggang lava plateau. Later, the Hantangang River waters eroded the basalt, creating the deep canyons and basalt cliffs that exist today. The Hantangang River has tributaries such as Namdaecheon, Yeongpyeongcheon, and Chatancheon, and along with the Imjin River, it is a flat river with a gentle slope and has well-developed sandbanks. The minerals that form the ground in the canyon caused by volcanic activity in the Chugaryeong Rift Zone include porphyritic metamorphic gneiss, Proterozoic Yeoncheon metamorphic sedimentary rock, Mesozoic Era Jurassic granite flow and porphyritic granite, Cretaceous sedimentary rocks of the Shindong Formation Group, etc.[8][9]
Tourism and Leisure edit
An old scenic spot on the Hantangang River is Goseokjeong, where Jinpyeong of Silla built a pavilion.[10] Recently, the Hantangang River basin has been in the spotlight as a rafting location.[11] As a leisure facility, there is the Hantangang River National Tourist Site.[12]
Natural Monuments edit
- Hantangang River Daegyocheon Basalt Canyon
- Pocheon Hantangang Basalt Canyon and Bidulginang Waterfall
- Pocheon Auraji Pillow Lava
- Jiktang waterfall
Gallery edit
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Basalt canyon Natural monument -
Jiktang falls -
Pocheon Pillow Lava
References edit
- ^ HRFCO 2012 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, pp. 82-83.
- ^ a b HRFCO 2012 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, pp. 22, 25, 33, 82-83.
- ^ Yoo Yeon-tae et al., Korea's Representative Travel Destinations 52, Nexus Books, 2006, page 72
- ^ a b 권, 영수, "철원 철새 도래지 (鐵原 철새 渡來地) Cheorwon migratory bird habitat", 한국민족문화대백과사전 [Encyclopedia of Korean Culture] (in Korean), Academy of Korean Studies, retrieved 2024-03-29
- ^ Baeuri, The Name of the Land, Lee Ga-seo, 2007, pp. 226 - 228
- ^ Lee Yun-ho, Zoom in Biology, Gungri, 2008, page 56
- ^ Lee HW, Baek LJ, Johnson KM (1982). "Isolation of Hantaan virus, the etiologic agent of Korean hemorrhagic fever, from wild urban rats". J Infect Dis. 146 (5): 638–644. doi:10.1093/infdis/146.5.638. PMID 6127366.
- ^ Kim Gwi-gon, Wetlands and Environment, Academy Books, 2006, pp. 544 - 545
- ^ http://nationalatlas.ngii.go.kr/pages/page_109.php Geological Status of the Korean Peninsula]
- ^ Hyeon-kyung Yoon, It is everywhere in Korea, Samsung Publishing, 2007, p. 81
- ^ Shim Chang-seop et al., Leisure Sports Roadmap Book, Hong Gyeong, 2008, page 132
- ^ Choi Ki-jong, Korea Tourism Geographic Information, Gimunsa, 2007, page 92