China has great physical diversity. The eastern plains and southern coasts of the country consist of fertile lowlands and foothills. They are the location of most of China's agricultural output and human population. The southern areas of the country consist of hilly and mountainous terrain. The west and north of the country are dominated by sunken basins,rolling plateaus,and towering massifs. It contains part of the highest tableland on earth,the Tibetan Plateau,and has much lower agricultural potential and population.
The Tibetan Plateau,also known as Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and Qing–Zang Plateau,is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central,South,and East Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region,most of Qinghai,western half of Sichuan,Southern Gansu provinces in Western China,southern Xinjiang,Bhutan,the Indian regions of Ladakh and Lahaul and Spiti as well as Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan,northwestern Nepal,eastern Tajikistan and southern Kyrgyzstan. It stretches approximately 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) north to south and 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) east to west. It is the world's highest and largest plateau above sea level,with an area of 2,500,000 square kilometres (970,000 sq mi). With an average elevation exceeding 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) and being surrounded by imposing mountain ranges that harbor the world's two highest summits,Mount Everest and K2,the Tibetan Plateau is often referred to as "the Roof of the World".
Qinghai Lake,also known as Kokenur Lake and other names,is the largest lake in China. Located in an endorheic basin in Qinghai Province,to which it gave its name,Qinghai Lake is classified as an alkaline salt lake. The lake has fluctuated in size,shrinking over much of the 20th century but increasing since 2004. It had a surface area of 4,317 km2 (1,667 sq mi),an average depth of 21 m (69 ft),and a maximum depth of 25.5 m (84 ft) in 2008.
The Qinghai–Tibet railway or Qingzang railway,is a high-elevation railway line in China between Xining,Qinghai Province,and Lhasa,Tibet. With over 960 km (600 mi) of track being more than 4,000 m (13,123 ft) above sea level,it is the highest railway line in the world.
Golmud,also known by various other romanizations,is a county-level city in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province,China. It is now the second-largest city in Qinghai and the third largest in the Tibetan Plateau. The population in 2020 is 221,863.
Altyn-Tagh is a mountain range in Northwestern China that separates the Eastern Tarim Basin from the Tibetan Plateau. The western third is in Xinjiang while the eastern part forms the border between Qinghai to the south and Xinjiang and Gansu to the north.
Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,locally also known as Qaidam Prefecture,is an autonomous prefecture occupying much of the northern half of Qinghai Province,China. It has an area of 325,785 square kilometres (125,786 sq mi) and its seat is Delingha. The name of the prefecture literally means "west of (Qinghai) Lake."
The Qaidam,Tsaidam,or Chaidamu Basin is a hyperarid basin that occupies a large part of Haixi Prefecture in Qinghai Province,China. The basin covers an area of approximately 120,000 km2 (46,000 sq mi),one-fourth of which is covered by saline lakes and playas. Around one third of the basin,about 35,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi),is desert.
Tanggulashan,or Dangla Town,is a town in the southwest of Qinghai province,China. It forms the southern exclave of the county-level city of Golmud,in Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,partially administrated by Amdo County,Tibet Autonomous Region since 1963 and still officially a territory of Yushu Prefecture,Qinghai under trust administration of Golmud,Haixi Prefecture,Qinghai. Before the local administrative reform of 2005,it was known as Tanggula Township (唐古拉乡). It is the only place in China simultaneously under jurisdiction of three prefectures.
Dabusun or Dabuxun Lake, alternately known as Dabasun Nor, is a lake beside the town Qarhan,just north of Golmud in the Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China. Fed by the main course of the Golmud River,it is the largest present-day lake in the Qarhan Playa. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin,it is extremely saline,with 307–338 grams of salt per liter of water (2.5 lb/gallon).
The Qarhan Playa or Salt Plain, also misleadingly described as Qarhan Lake,is a playa in the Golmud and Dulan counties of Haixi Prefecture,Qinghai,China. Formerly a single unitary lake,it is now an expansive salt flat divided into four greater sections which contain a number of smaller salt lakes,the largest of which is Dabusun Lake. The area is heavily exploited for its valuable salt,mineral,and rare earth reserves but parts are also protected as a national park and contribute to regional tourism.
North or Bei Hulsan Lake, also known by other names,is a lake northeast of Golmud in Dulan County,Haixi Prefecture,Qinghai Province,China. A part of the Qarhan Playa,it is filled from the east by the Qaidam River. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin,it is extremely saline.
South or Nan Hulsan Lake, also known by other names,is a lake northeast of Golmud in Dulan County,Haixi Prefecture,Qinghai Province,China. A part of the Qarhan Playa,it lies east of Tuanjie Lake and south of North Hulsan Lake. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin,it is extremely saline.
Tuanjie Lake is a lake in the southeastern Qarhan Playa north of Golmud in the Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China. It is fed from the south by the Shougong River. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin,it is extremely saline.
Xiezuo Lake is a lake in the northeastern Qarhan Playa north of Golmud in Dulan County,Haixi Prefecture,Qinghai Province,China. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin,it is extremely saline.
Dabiele Lake,also known by other names,is an ephemeral lake in the southwestern Qarhan Playa north of Golmud in the Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China. It is fed by the Tuolahai and Qingshui Rivers from the Kunlun Mountains to the south. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin,it is extremely saline;like the other lakes in the Bieletan subbasin,it is rich in lithium.
Xiaobiele Lake or Xiaobieletan is an ephemeral lake in the southwestern Qarhan Playa north of Golmud in the Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin,it is extremely saline;like the other lakes of the surrounding Bieletan subbasin,it is rich in lithium.
Dongling Lake is a lake in the Qarhan Playa north of Golmud in the Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin,it is extremely saline.
South,Little,or New Suli or Senie Lake is a small ephemeral lake in Golmud County,Haixi Prefecture,Qinghai Province,China. It lies in the southwest corner of the Qarhan Playa in the southeast Qaidam Basin. It is part of Qarhan's Bieletan subbasin,located south of Suli Lake and west of Dabiele Lake. It is principally fed from the southwest by the Zaohuo or Little Zaohuo River (小灶火河,XiǎozàohuǒHé) and consists of a 1.5 km2 (0.58 sq mi) basin which gradually evaporates into three smaller ponds. As part of the Bieletan subbasin,it is rich in lithium chloride.
The Golmud or Ge'ermu River is a river in Golmud County,Haixi Prefecture,Qinghai Province,China. It flows north from the Kunlun Mountains to Dabusun and (occasionally) West Dabusun Lakes in the central Qarhan Playa in the southeastern Qaidam Basin. The county seat Golmud lies along it.
