Daba Mountains | |
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Dabashan | |
On top of the Shennong Peak
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 3,105 |
Prominence | Shennong Deng |
Naming | |
Native name | 大巴山 |
Geography | |
Daba Mountains | |||||||||
Morning in Xiqiuwan in Badong County
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Chinese | |||||||||
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Literal meaning | Great Ba Mountain(s) | ||||||||
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Transcriptions | |
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Standard Mandarin | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Dàbāshān |
Wade–Giles | Ta Pa Shan Ta-pa-shan |
The Daba Mountains, also known by their Chinese name as the Dabashan, are a mountain range in Central China between the watersheds of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Part of the larger Qinling mountain range, it cuts through four provinces: Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi, and Hubei. It is about 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) long.
The Daba Mountains run in the general west-northwest to east-southeast direction, along the border between, on the one side (southwest and south) Sichuan and Chongqing, and on the other side (northeast and north) Shaanxi and Hubei. The mountains of Shennongjia are often considered the easternmost section of the Daba Range.
The southern slope of the Daba Mountains drains into the Sichuan Basin or directly into the Yangtze via short streams that flow into the river in the Three Gorges area, such as the Shen Nong Stream. The northern side drains into the Han River, a major tributary of the Yangtze, which, however, does not join the Yangtze until some hundreds kilometers to the east (in Wuhan).
The Daba Mountains' highest points are in the Shennongjia massif in Shennongjia Forest District. The three tallest peaks, located west of Muyu town, are Shennong Deng ("Shennong Peak", 3,105 meters (10,187 ft) elevation), Da Shennongjia ("Great Shennongjia", 3,052 meters (10,013 ft)), and Xiao Shennongjia ("Lesser Shennongjia", 3,005 meters (9,859 ft), on the district's border with Badong County). Laojun Shan, 2,936 meters (9,633 ft) tall, is located northeast of Muyu.