Sichuan Basin

Sichuan Basin, basin comprising the greater part of eastern Sichuan province and the western portion of Chongqing municipality, southwestern China. It is surrounded by the highlands of the Plateau of Tibet on the west and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau on the south and the Wu Mountains on the east and the Daba Mountains on the north, all of which protect the interior from temperature extremes. The basin covers 88,600 square miles (229,500 square km) of red-brick sandstone, deeply dissected in the south by the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) and in the centre by three of its tributaries. Its floor is just under 800 feet (240 metres) in elevation, and its outer margins lie at about 2,000 feet (600 metres). The basin, which is densely populated, has a mild climate that permits diversified agriculture, mainly on terraced hillsides. The basin is one of China’s main rice-producing areas; other products include tung oil, sugarcane, oranges, tangerines, and medicinal herbs. Industries utilize the coal, petroleum, natural gas, salt, manganese, sulfur, and iron ore deposits of the basin. Chengdu is the major centre of population, and Chongqing lies on its eastern edge.