Angsi Glacier

Last updated
Angsi
Nangser
Tibet loc rel map.svg
Red pog.svg
Type Valley glacier
Coordinates 30°20′53″N82°2′41″E / 30.34806°N 82.04472°E / 30.34806; 82.04472
Lowest elevation5319.7 [1]
Angsi Glacier
ངང་སེར་འཁྱགས་རོམ, Wylie: ngang ser 'khyags rom, THL: ngang ser khyak rom) is a glacier located on the northern side of the Himalayas in the Purang County in China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [1] It is immediately to the east of the Indus-Tsangpo water divide at the eastern edge of the Purang County. One of the headwaters of the Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra), called Angsi Chu or Nangser Chu, originates in this glacier. Angsi Chu merges with the Chema-yungdung Chu [lower-alpha 1] within a short distance ( 30°24′14″N82°16′37″E / 30.4038°N 82.277°E / 30.4038; 82.277 (Confluence of Angsi and Chema-yungdung streams) ), and the combined river is called Chema-yungdung Chu. [2]

Contents

Swami Pranavananda, an Indian ascetic and pilgrim, noted in 1939 that the Tibetan traditions regard the Chema-yungdung glacier as the source of Brahmaputra. [3] He also noted that Kubi Chu, another source stream of Brahmaputra favoured by Sven Hedin, is larger, and that the Angsi Chu gives greater length. [4]

As another complication, Angsi Chu merges with another stream called Dangkar Chu flowing from the Tumulung Lake (Tibetan : ཏུང་ལུང་མཚོ, Wylie : tung lung mtsho) before its confluence with Chema-yundung Chu ( 30°25′29″N82°11′06″E / 30.4246°N 82.1851°E / 30.4246; 82.1851 (Confluence of Dangkar Chu and Angsi Chu) ). Pranavananda also noted that the Indian Bhotiya merchants call the Tumulung Lake as "Brahmakund" and regard it as the source of Brahmaputra. [5] Water residues seen in satellite maps indicate that waters from the Ganglung Glacier, to the west of Angsi Glacier, once flowed into the Tumulung Lake, but now they flow west into Sutlej ( 30°26′25″N82°00′19″E / 30.4402°N 82.0052°E / 30.4402; 82.0052 (Ganglung stream flowing west) ).

In 2011, Chinese scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences declared that the Angsi Glacier is the "true source" of the Tsangpo River and this determination has been accepted by the Indian observers. [6] [7] Encyclopedia Britannica continues to regard the Chema-yungdung Glacier as the source of Brahmaputra. [8]

Notes

  1. The Tibetan name is Tibetan: རྒྱས་མ་ཡངས་འཛོམས, Wylie: gyé ma yang dzom, ZYPY: Gyaimayangzom.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brahmaputra River</span> Transboundary river which flows through China, India, and Bangladesh

The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet (China), Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese,Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali and Jamuna River in Bengali. It is the 9th largest river in the world by discharge, and the 15th longest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Tibet</span>

The geography of Tibet consists of the high mountains, lakes and rivers lying between Central, East and South Asia. Traditionally, Western sources have regarded Tibet as being in Central Asia, though today's maps show a trend toward considering all of modern China, including Tibet, to be part of East Asia. Tibet is often called "the roof of the world," comprising tablelands averaging over 4,950 metres above the sea with peaks at 6,000 to 7,500 m, including Mount Everest, on the border with Nepal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon</span> Canyon in Tibet, China

The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, also known as the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, the Tsangpo Canyon, the Brahmaputra Canyon or the Tsangpo Gorge, is a canyon along the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the deepest canyon in the world, and at 504.6 kilometres (313.5 mi) is slightly longer than the Grand Canyon in the United States, making it one of the world's largest. The Yarlung Tsangpo originates near Mount Kailash and runs east for about 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi), draining a northern section of the Himalayas before it enters the gorge just downstream of Pei, Tibet, near the settlement of Zhibe. The canyon has a length of about 240 kilometres (150 mi) as the gorge bends around Mount Namcha Barwa and cuts its way through the eastern Himalayan range. Its waters drop from about 2,900 metres (9,500 ft) near Pei to about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) at the end of the Upper Gorge where the Po Tsangpo River enters. The river continues through the Lower Gorge to the Indian border at an elevation of 660 metres (2,170 ft). The river then enters Arunachal Pradesh and eventually becomes the Brahmaputra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friendship Highway (China–Nepal)</span> Highway connecting Tibet with the Chinese/Nepalese border

The Friendship Highway is an 800-kilometre (500 mi) scenic route connecting the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, with the Chinese/Nepalese border at the Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge between Zhangmu and Kodari. It includes the westernmost part of China National Highway 318 (Shanghai-Zhangmu) and crosses three passes over 5,000 m (16,400 ft) before dropping to 1,750 m (5,700 ft) at the border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Pelku</span> Lake of Tibet, China

Lake Pelku, Pelkhu, or Paiku is a lake at 4,591 meters (15,062 ft) elevation on the Tibetan Plateau in Shigatse Prefecture. It is 18 kilometers (11 mi) south of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River, bordering Saga County, Gyirong County, and Nyalam County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Namcha Barwa</span> Mountain in Tibet, China

Namcha Barwa or Namchabarwa is a mountain peak lying in Tibet in the region of Pemako. The traditional definition of the Himalaya extending from the Indus River to the Brahmaputra would make it the eastern anchor of the entire mountain chain, and it is the highest peak of its own section as well as Earth's easternmost peak over 7,600 metres (24,900 ft). It lies in the Nyingchi Prefecture of Tibet. It is the highest peak in the 180 km long Namcha Barwa Himal range, which is considered the easternmost syntaxis/section of the Himalaya in southeastern Tibet and northeastern India where the Himalaya are said to end, although high ranges actually continue another 300 km to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains</span> Mountain range in China

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Nyenchen Tanglha</span>

Mount Nyenchen Tanglha is the highest peak of Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains, which together with the Gangdise range forms the Transhimalaya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasho County</span> County in Tibet, Peoples Republic of China

Pasho County or Baxoi County is a county under the administration of Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The county seat is at Pema, which is also called the Pasho Town. The county population is 35,273 (1999). It contains the Pomda Monastery and Rakwa Tso lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bomê County</span> County in Tibet, Peoples Republic of China

Pome County or Bomê County is a county of Nyingchi Prefecture in the south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Historically known as Powo or Poyul, it was the seat of a quasi-independent kingdom until the early 20th century when troops of the Dalai Lama's Lhasa government integrated it into the central Tibetan realm. The population was 25,897 in 2004.

Goyul or Goyü is a township located in the Zayul County, Nyingchi Prefecture in eastern Tibet Autonomous Region, China.

Dzongka or Zongga is a town and the administrative headquarters of Gyirong County in the southwestern Tibet region of China bordering Nepal. Being the administrative headquarters, it is also sometimes referred to as "Gyirong Dzong" or "Gyirong Town", but it is different from the original Kyirong Town in the southern part of the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarlung Tsangpo</span> River in Tibet, upper stream of the Brahmaputra

The Yarlung Tsangpo, also called Yarlung Zangbo and Yalu Zangbu River is the upper stream of the Brahmaputra River located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the longest river of Tibet and the fifth longest in China. The upper section is also called Dangque Zangbu meaning "Horse River."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purang Town</span> Town in Tibet, Peoples Republic of China

Purang or Burang, known as Puhreng in Tibetan, (Nepali:ताक्लाकोट) is a town which serves as the administrative center of Purang County, Ngari Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), China. The town lies at an altitude of 3,900m in the valley of the Karnali River. The town spans an area of 3,257.81 square kilometres (1,257.85 sq mi), and has a permanent population 6,047 as of 2010, and a hukou population of 4,477 as of 2018. To the south are Gurla Mandhata and the Abi Gamin ranges. Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash are to the north. This region is the mythological and actual river nexus of the Himalaya with sources of the Indus, Ganges and Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra all within 110 kilometres (70 mi) of Purang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lhasa River</span> River in Tibet

The Lhasa River, also called Kyi Chu, is a northern tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the south of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The Yarlung Tsangpo is the upper section of the Brahmaputra River. The Lhasa River is subject to flooding with the summer monsoon rains, and structures have been built to control the floods. In its lower reaches the river valley is an important agricultural area. The city of Lhasa, named after the river, lies on the river. There are two large hydroelectric power stations on the river, the Zhikong Hydro Power Station (100 MW) and the Pangduo Hydro Power Station (160 MW)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saga, Tibet</span> Township in Tibet Autonomous Region, China

Saga is a town and township, and the seat of Saga County in Shigatse Prefecture, in southern Tibet. It lies at an altitude of 4,640 metres

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sengge Zangbo</span> River in Tibet Autonomous Region, China

Sengge Zangbo, Sengge Khabab or Shiquan He is a river in the Ngari Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China that is the source stream of the Indus river, one of the major trans-Himalayan rivers of Central and South Asia. The river rises in the mountain springs north of the Manasarovar lake, and 300 km (190 mi) downstream joins the Gar Tsangpo river near the village of Tashigang. Although it is thereafter called the Indus internationally, the Tibetans continue to regard the combined river to be Sênggê Zangbo as it flows into Ladakh.

The Bailey–Morshead exploration of the Tsangpo Gorge was an unauthorised expedition by Frederick Bailey and Henry Morshead in 1913 which for the first time established the definite route by which the Tsangpo River reaches the sea from north of Himalaya, through the Tsangpo Gorge.

Nyamjang Chu, or Nyashang Chu (Tibetan: ཉ་བཤང་ཆུ, Wylie: nya bshang chu, THL: nya shang chu) is a cross-border perennial river that originates in the Shannan Prefecture of Tibet and flows into the Arunachal Pradesh state of India, joining the Tawang Chu river just before it enters Bhutan. The Nyamjang Chu valley has provided the traditional communication route between Tawang and Tibet. The valley near town of Zemithang in the Tawang district, called the Pangchen Valley, is known for its serene beauty and forms one of the wintering locations for the black-necked crane.

Tulung La (Tibetan: ཐུ་ལུང་ལ་, Wylie: thu lung la) is a border pass between the Tsona County in the Tibet region of China and India's Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh. It is in the eastern part of the two districts, close to the Gori Chen cluster of mountains, on a watershed between the Tsona Chu river in Tibet and the Tawang Chu in the Tawang district. The watershed ridge forms the border between Tibet and India as per the McMahon Line. Tulung La provided an invasion route to China during the 1962 Sino-Indian War. It is also the scene of occasional clashes between the two sides.

References

  1. 1 2 Ganesh Pangare; Bushra Nishat; Xiawei Liao; Halla Maher Qaddumi, eds. (2021), The Restless River, Washington DC: World Bank, p. 32
  2. "Geographical names of Tibet AR (China): Tibet Autonomous Region". KNAB Place Name Database. Institute of the Estonian Language. 2018-06-03. Gyaimayangzom.
  3. Pranavananda, Exploration in Tibet (1939), pp. 101–102.
  4. Pranavananda, Exploration in Tibet (1939), pp. 104–105.
  5. Pranavananda, Exploration in Tibet (1939), p. 105.
  6. "Scientists pinpoint sources of four major international rivers". Xinhua News Agency. 22 August 2011. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013.
  7. Krishnan, Ananth (23 August 2011). "China maps Brahmaputra, Indus". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018.
  8. Brahmaputra River, Encyclopedia Britannica, retrieved 3 October 2022. "The Brahmaputra’s source is the Chemayungdung Glacier, which covers the slopes of the Himalayas about 60 miles (100 km) southeast of Lake Mapam in southwestern Tibet."

Bibliography

Angsi Glacier
Simplified Chinese 昂色冰川