Datong River

{{Short description|River in China}}

File:Yellowrivermap.jpg

The Datong River ({{zh|c=大通河|p=Dàtōng hé}}), known as the Julak Chu (Tibetan: འཇུ་ལག་ཆུ་) in Amdo Tibetan, is a river of Qinghai in the Yellow River basin. It has a total length of {{convert|560| km}}, and a basin area of {{convert|15130|km2}}.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}} It has an average annual flow of 90.5 cubic meters per second. It was previously spelled Tatung in English.

The river forms in Tianjun County, part of Qinghai Province's Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It then flows easterly separating the Qilian Mountains from the Daban Mountains. The main centre of population along its length here is Menyuan. The Datong River meets the Huangshui River at Qinghai's border with Gansu.{{cite book |author= |title=Atlas of China |location=Beijing, China |publisher=SinoMaps Press |date=2006 |isbn=9787503141782}} While it is a tributary of the Huangshui in name, the Datong River is actually the main stem of the Huangshui River system and is considerably longer than the Huangshui.