The establishment of the course of the modern Yangtze River is a topic of ongoing debate, with the formation of the Three Gorges, incised in the Huangling Massif, representing the key event under discussion. Downstream of the Three Gorges, the Cenozoic succession of the Jianghan Basin has been investigated to detect the moment of incision into the Three Gorges. Detrital apatite fission-track data from Eocene to Miocene sediments drilled in the Jianghan Basin suggest that material was supplied by the Dabie, Qinling and Jiangnan Orogens during Eocene to early Oligocene times. At late Oligocene, the source of sediments switched to the Huangling Massif, implying incision of the Three Gorges. We therefore propose that the modern Yangtze River system formed at the late Oligocene.

中文翻译：

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扬子三峡的形成——来自江汉盆地沉积物碎屑磷灰石裂变径迹测年的见解

近代长江航道的建立是一个持续争论的话题，黄陵地块上三峡的形成代表了正在讨论的关键事件。在三峡下游，江汉盆地的新生代序列已被调查，以检测切入三峡的时刻。在江汉盆地钻探的始新世至中新世沉积物碎屑磷灰石裂变径迹数据表明，材料在始新世至渐新世早期由大别、秦岭和江南造山带提供。渐新世晚期，沉积物源头转向黄陵地块，暗示三峡切入。因此，我们提出现代长江水系形成于渐新世晚期。