受黄河夺淮的影响,从1570年开始淮河下游由向东独流入海逐渐演变为南下入江,成为长江一条支流。这一变化为长江河流地貌的演变增加了新的变量,改变了长江镇扬河段原有的河槽特征和水流结构,洲滩冲淤、岸线进退随之发生变化。本文使用历史文献考证与古地图判读相结合的研究方法,对淮河入江口外沙洲群的形成年代与演变过程进行考证,认为裕民洲、南新洲等沙洲至少在17世纪前已经存在于淮河入江口外,是成化、弘治年间藤料沙等沦没后新淤长的沙洲。淮河入江后上述沙洲不断扩大、与新淤长沙洲一起向北并岸,致使镇扬河段北汊消亡,并由江心洲型河床向弯曲型河床转化。曲流的形成又使位于上游凹岸的瓜洲受到侵蚀,而位于凸岸的镇江不断淤积,长江镇扬河段逐渐演变为今天的面貌。

Under the influence of the changing relationship between the Yellow River and the Huaihe River, the lower reaches of the Huaihe River had gradually drained into the Yangtze River since 1570 AD, and finally became a tributary of the Yangtze River. This transformation added new variations to the evolution of the Yangtze River's fluvial processes by changing the original riverbed features and currents of the Zhenjiang-Yangzhou reach. This article analyzed three surveyed maps, discussed related historical literature and investigated some antique maps to explore the formation and the evolution of the sandbanks outside the estuary of the Huaihe River. Some sandbanks including the Yumin Sandbar and Nanxin Sandbar appeared before the 17th century due to the disintegration of original sandbars such as Tengliao Sandbar,which disappeared during the Chenghua and Hongzhi reigns in the Ming Dynasty (1465-1505 AD). Since the Huaihe River entered into the Yangtze River, the Yumin Sandbar and Nanxin Sandbar had continued to expand and banked to the north along with the newly-formed sandbanks. At last, the northern channel of the Zhenjiang-Yangzhou reach demised and the riverbed transformed from a straightforward bifurcation into a curved one. Accordingly, the formation of meandering flow began to erode Guazhou Town on the upstream concave bank and silt Zhenjiang Town on the convex bank, gradually reshaping the Zhenjiang-Yangzhou reach of the Yangtze River into its current configuration.