Qaidam Basin
| Tibetan name |
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Tibetan script :
ཚྭ་ འདམ་ གཤོང
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Wylie transliteration : tshwa 'dam gshong
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Pronunciation in IPA : [
tsʰɛtam ɕɔŋ ]
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Official transcription of the PRCh : Qaidam Xong
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THDL transcription : Tsadam Shong
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Other spellings: -
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| Chinese name |
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Traditional :
柴達木 盆地
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Simplified :
柴达木 盆地
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Pinyin : Cháidámù Péndì
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The Qaidam Basin , also known as the Tsaidam Basin , is a desert region located in the north of the Tibetan plateau in the Chinese province of Qinghai . The name is probably derived from Mongolian and Tibetan , in which tsa'i dam means "salt swamp or swamps". These are mainly the swamps along the main river Qaidam He , which drains from the easternmost foothills of the Kunlun Shan (here Burhan Budai Shan) into the basin.
Administratively, the Qaidam Basin belongs to the Haixi Autonomous District of the Mongols and Tibetans.
geography
The basin lies at an altitude between 2600 m and 3300 m on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and is surrounded by mountains, some of which rise up to 6000 m. In the south lies the Kunlun Mountains, in the north the basin is bounded by the Nan Shan , i.e. the western Altun Shan and the eastern Qilian Shan . It measures around 850 km from east to west and around 300 km from north to south.
The basin is rich in mineral resources, including natural gas . As in the plateau south of the Qaidam basin, there are also some salt lakes or salt deserts here .
The remarkable Qinghai Lake , which is often incorrectly counted as part of the Qaidam Basin, is the largest lake in China, but fills its own basin.
The largest lake in the Qaidam Basin, on the other hand, is Dabsan Hu north of the capital Golmud . The salt content of the salt lakes in the Qaidam Basin is so high that the water surface is partially completely encrusted and is therefore often not perceived as a lake at all. The salt from these lakes is largely mined and industrially processed north of the city of Golmud.
economy
Because of its wealth of natural resources, the landscape is also known as the “treasure basin”. In addition to table salt, the salt lakes also contain potassium , magnesium , boron and lithium salts. In the northeast of the basin there are lead - zinc deposits, in the west crude oil and natural gas are extracted.
population
Between 1946 and 1986 the population grew from 10,000 to 270,000.
climate
Due to the high altitude and the great distance from the sea, there is a cool continental climate. The winters are long and very cold, and spring often brings sandstorms. The rain is shielded by the mountains, making parts of the basin one of the driest regions in China. Average annual temperature (Golmud): 4.9 ° C, rainfall: 40 mm / year.
Web links
- Qinghai and Qaidam (archive version) ( Memento from March 25, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
- Worldwildlife Report (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Please insert receipt.
Coordinates: 37 ° 16 ′ 0 ″ N , 94 ° 27 ′ 0 ″ E