Editing Manchuria (section)

== Geography and climate ==
[[File:Climate Map for Manchuria-Northeast China.png|thumb|Climate map of Manchuria or Northeast China.]]
Manchuria consists mainly of the northern side of the funnel-shaped [[North China craton|North China Craton]], a large area of tilled and overlaid [[Precambrian]] rocks spanning {{convert|100|e6ha|e6acre|abbr=off}}. The North China Craton was an independent continent before the [[Triassic]] period and is known to have been the northernmost piece of land in the world during the [[Carboniferous]]. The [[Greater Khingan]] in the west is a Jurassic<ref>Bogatikov, Oleg Alekseevich (2000); ''Magmatism and Geodynamics: Terrestrial Magmatism throughout the Earth's History''; pp. 150–151; {{ISBN|90-5699-168-X}}</ref> mountain range formed by the collision of the North China Craton with the [[Siberia (continent)|Siberian Craton]], which marked the final stage of the formation of the [[supercontinent]] [[Pangaea]].
[[File:China Railways passenger train K1452 on Binsui railway 20120817.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Hailang River]] near Hailin City in [[Heilongjiang]]]]
No part of Manchuria was [[glaciation|glaciated]] during the [[Quaternary]], but the surface geology of most of the lower-lying and more fertile parts of Manchuria consists of very deep layers of [[loess]], which have been formed by the wind-borne movement of [[dust]] and [[till]] particles formed in glaciated parts of the [[Himalaya]]s, [[Kunlun Mountains]] and [[Tian Shan]], as well as the [[Gobi]] and [[Taklamakan]] Deserts.<ref>Kropotkin, Prince P.; "Geology and Geo-Botany of Asia"; in ''Popular Science'', May 1904; pp. 68–69</ref> Soils are mostly fertile [[mollisols]] and [[fluvent]]s except in the more mountainous parts where they have poorly developed [[orthent]]s, as well as in the extreme north where [[permafrost]] occurs and [[orthels]] dominate.<ref>Juo, A. S. R. and Franzlübbers, Kathrin Tropical Soils: Properties and Management for Sustainable Agriculture; pp. 118–119; {{ISBN|0-19-511598-8}}</ref>

The climate of Manchuria has extreme seasonal contrasts, ranging from humid, almost tropical heat in summer to windy, dry, Arctic cold in winter. This pattern occurs because the position of Manchuria on the boundary between the great [[Eurasia]]n continental landmass and the huge Pacific Ocean causes complete [[monsoon]]al wind reversal.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In summer, when the land heats faster than the ocean, low-pressure forms over Asia and warm, moist south to southeasterly winds bring heavy, thundery rain, yielding annual rainfall ranging from {{cvt|400|mm}}, or less in the west, to over {{cvt|1150|mm}} in the [[Changbai Mountains]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amlinkint.com/English/travel-to-china/images/about-china-annual-precipit.jpg |title=Average Annual Precipitation in China |access-date=2010-05-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602163920/http://www.amlinkint.com/English/travel-to-china/images/about-china-annual-precipit.jpg |archive-date=2 June 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Temperatures in summer are very warm to hot, with July average maxima ranging from {{cvt|31|C}} in the south to {{cvt|24|C|}} in the extreme north.<ref>Kaisha, Tesudo Kabushiki and Manshi, Minami; ''Manchuria: Land of Opportunities''; pp. 1–2; {{ISBN|1-110-97760-3}}</ref>

In winter, however, the vast [[Siberia]]n [[Siberian High|High]] causes very cold, north-to-northwesterly winds that bring temperatures as low as {{cvt|−5|C}} in the extreme south and {{cvt|−30|C}} in the north<ref>Kaisha and Manshi; ''Manchuria''; pp. 1–2</ref> where the zone of [[discontinuous permafrost]] reaches northern [[Heilongjiang]]. However, because the winds from [[Siberia]] are exceedingly dry, snow falls only on a few days every winter, and it is never heavy. This explains why corresponding latitudes of North America were fully glaciated during glacial periods of the Quaternary while Manchuria, though even colder, always remained too dry to form [[glacier]]s<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050425193134/http://www.eas.slu.edu/People/KChauff/earth_history/4EH-posted.pdf Earth History 2001] (page 15)</ref>&nbsp;– a state of affairs enhanced by stronger westerly winds from the surface of the [[ice sheet]] in Europe.