The central Yunnan province is located in the Southeast of the Tibetan Plateau. Being one of the most tectonically active regions, it is cut by several active strike-slip faults. It is an ideal place to investigate the relationship between the active tectonics and river systems. Here, the SRTM-DEM with spatial resolution of 30 m was used as the basic dataset, and the ArcGIS and MATLAB software were used to the extract profile characteristics of 20 tributaries from the Jinsha River, the Pearl River, and the Red River in the central Yunnan province. First, the networks of the 20 tributaries were mapped and analyzed. Secondly, the relationship between tectonic uplift and fluvial incision was analyzed by steep index (Ks). The results show that (1) the networks are represented by the Horton Laws for the streams of the lower orders but deviate dramatically at the highest order. (2) S-A plots all exhibit alternate convex and concave forms. It can be inferred that the developments of high-order rivers were significantly affected by the strike-slips faults. The analysis of fluvial geomorphology can help us to further investigate the tectonic activities and characteristics of the central Yunnan province. © 2021, Science Press. All right reserved.
