Abstract: Based on the TM/ETM images in the years of 1990 and 2007, this paper demonstrated the current land use maps in the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang using the mancomputer interactive interpretation. Expansion of land for urban construction and its driving forces in the study area were analyzed using the spatial analysis of GIS. Specifically, the land concentration, land expansion degree, land use intensity and relative change rate were computed using the principal component analysis. The results show that the expansion of land for urban construction, rural residential area construction and other construction purposes was much less than that of other land use types, but the change extent was the most obvious. Separated by the mountains in the south, the plains in the north were the main areas for the expansion of agricultural land and land for construction. With the rapid economic development, land use change was mainly affected by economic factors although population growth was the most direct driving force affecting land use change. The effect of industrial restructuring on land use change was significant. Moreover, the technological advance and the investment increase were the direct factors promoting the change of land for urban construction in the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains.

Key words: oasis, urban, land use, driving force, northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains