Tectonic uplift and climate change are two key factors in controlling the development of river terraces in hinterlands.Rivers in different areas,however,correspond to them in various ways.The Haizi Shan,located in the central Shaluli Mountain,eastern Tibetan Plateau,experienced tectonic uplift of great amplitude and extensive glaciation during the Quaternary.Six order river terraces have been preserved on both bands of the Yazheku River in the northern margin of the Haizi Shan,while to the south are glacial sediments in the Daocheng River valley in the southern Haizi Shan.Electron Spin Resonance(ESR) was applied to date the sediments of the 4 higher terraces(T3~T6,from the lower to higher order) and the glacial sediments in the Daocheng River valley.The evolution process of the 4 terraces was analyzed on the basis of the dating results and the geomorphological and sedimentological characteristics of the terraces.The strath formation and sediment aggradation of the 4 terraces occurred during the period of glacier melting,which corresponds to the late period of deep-sea oxygen isotopic stages 2,6,12,and 16.With climate getting warmer,glaciers on the Haizi Shan gradually melted and disappeared eventually after climate turned into interglacial condition.As a result,the loading of the underlying crust dramatically decreased,which led to tectonic uplift and the deglaciation-induced isostatic uplift of the underlying crust.Accordingly,the longitudinal profile of the Yazheku River steepened,together with increased water supply resulting from the strengthened Indian monsoon precipitation,the stream power highly increased.Lesser amount of contemporary river sediment resulted in that previously deposited sediment and underlying basement were incised,thus forming a new terrace.The incision ratio of the Yazheku River was ~0.43 mm/a since late deep-sea isotope stage 16,less than the uplifting ratio(2 mm/a) of the Haizi Shan,which is consistent with the conclusion that the incision ratio is no more than the uplifting ratio.