loess lou.es, Ger. lös, Ger. . Geol. Also löss, erron. loëss. [a; Ger. dial. lösz.] A deposit of fine yellowish-grey loam which occurs extensively from north-central Europe to eastern China, in the American mid-west, and elsewhere, esp. in the basins of large rivers, and which is usually considered to be composed of material transported by the wind during and after the Glacial Period.Relevant to us because the Huang [Yellow] River cuts through (and is made 'yellow' by) an extensive area of loess. The Huang carries the greatest sediment load of any large river in the world, and its deposition of silt has created the North China Plain --on the margins of which Chinese civilization began. The map and images below are from Atlas of Geo-Science Analyses of LANDSAT Imagery in China [SCI FOLIO G2306 .C1 K7 1986]
