Hoang-ho ("Yellow River"), one of the chief rivers of China, rises in the plain of Odontala, south of the Kuen-lun Mountains, and sweeps with impetuous current in a more or less north-easterly direction, discharging into the Gulf of Pechili after a course of 3000 m.; it is for the most part quite unnavigable, and its frequent floods are a constant menace to the districts through which it flows.