The Loess Plateau is represented by the darker shaded area

The Yellow river carries large amounts of silts to its basin each year (1.6 5 tons annually) From the Loess Plateau, where the high rates of erosion occur, silts are transported eastward when the rivers volume is capable. When the river has recently dried up in lower elevations near the plains surrounding Taishan at Jinan, this sediment would be deposited when the stream loses velocity.

Adding to sediment deposition, From Zhengzhou to the sea, fewer tributaries add volume to the rivers flow, and sediments have significantly raised the riverbeds