Context change
Before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Taihu Lake was originally an alluvial plain on land. In the Tang Dynasty, the lake reached the bank of Wujiang pond.
Dongshan and Xishan in Dongting were originally two big islands in the lake. Later, due to sediment deposition between Dongshan and Mudu, the beach expanded. By the middle of Qing dynasty, the islands were connected by sandbars, making East Taihu Lake a big bay of Taihu Lake. In recent 1200 years, due to the intensification of siltation on the east and northwest coasts of East Taihu Lake and the reclamation of the lake beach, East Taihu Lake has actually become a long and narrow shallow dry lake area with serious water resistance. The changes of modern Taihu Lake are most prominent in the East Taihu Lake area.
In 1960s and 1970s, the area of Taihu Lake and its surrounding lakes decreased by 13.6% due to reclamation around the lake, and 165 lakes disappeared or basically disappeared, with a total area of 16 1 km2. Among them, Taihu Lake and crossing the lake are the most prominent, and Ma Jishan Island in the northwest of Taihu Lake is connected with the land because of reclaiming land from the lake. Due to the acceleration of the speed of encircling the lake in the north, east and south directions of the lake, the original lake surface has been greatly reduced.
General situation of lake area
Taihu Lake covers an area of 2338 _ _, with a crescent moon protruding from the west, a smooth curved shore in the southwest and many lakes and angles in the northeast. The lake is 68 kilometers long and has a maximum width of 56 kilometers. Due to siltation and artificial reclamation, some islands are connected with Dongting Mountain and Dongting Mountain respectively, while those near the shore are connected with the lakeshore, forming a peninsula. At present, there are 48 large and small islands, and the Dongting Mountain in the west is the largest, accounting for 75__.