Red Basin

Sichuan Basin (四川盆地)
Region
Sichuan Basin landscape in Zitong County
Country	China
Provinces	Sichuan, Chongqing
Region	Southwest China
Length	500 km (311 mi)
Width	400 km (249 mi)
Area	229,500 km2 (88,610 sq mi)
Elevation	150 m (490 ft) to 700 m (2,300 ft)
Coordinates	30°30′N 105°30′E / 30.500°N 105.500°E / 30.500; 105.500Coordinates: 30°30′N 105°30′E / 30.500°N 105.500°E / 30.500; 105.500
Map of China with Sichuan Basin highlighted

The Sichuan Basin (Chinese: 四川盆地; pinyin: Sìchuān Péndì), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the Yangtze River and its tributaries. The basin is anchored by Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in the west, and Chongqing, an independent municipality in the east. Due to its relative flatness and fertile soils, Sichuan Basin is heavily populated with a population of more than 100 million. In addition to being a dominant geographical feature of the region, the Sichuan Basin also constitutes a cultural sphere that is distinguished by its own unique customs, cuisine, and dialects. It is famous for its rice cultivation and is often considered the breadbasket of China. In the 21st century its industrial base is expanding with growth in the high-tech, aerospace, and petroleum industries.

The Sichuan Basin forms the rigid northwest edge of the Yangtze tectonic plate. The Yangtze Plate's complex relationship with the surrounding Eurasian Plate is evidenced at its margins.Orogeny formed by the Indian Plate's collision with Eurasia has compressed against the Sichuan Basin's western edge, most notably along the Longmenshan Fault. This fault was the epicenter of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. Sichuan Basin's rigidness withstands much of the Tibetan Plateau's eastern movement, but dramatic folds have formed within the Yangtze Plate along the Sichuan Basin's eastern edges. Here, ancient faults interact with the Daba Mountains, themselves a result of pressure between the Yangtze and Eurasian Plates in a perpendicular direction.