Altyn-Tagh (also Altun Mountains, Altun Shan; , Pinyin: ''A'erjin Shan'', Wade–Giles: ''A-erh-chin Shan;'' Uyghur'':ئالتۇن تاغ'') 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 Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

to the north. Altun Shan is also the name of a mountain near the eastern end of the range, the highest point in Gansu.

Etymology

Altyn Tag means ''Gold Mountain'' in

Turkic Turkic may refer to: * anything related to the country of Turkey * Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages ** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation) ** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language * ...

, and Jin Shan () is Chinese for '' Gold Mountain''.

Geography

A series of mountain ranges run along the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. In the west are the

Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun Mountains ( zh, s=昆仑山, t=崑崙山, p=Kūnlún Shān, ; ug, كۇئېنلۇن تاغ تىزمىسى / قۇرۇم تاغ تىزمىسى ) constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the bro ...

. About halfway across the south side of the Tarim Basin, the Altyn-Tagh Range diverges northeast while the Kunluns continue directly east, forming a relatively narrow "V". Inside the "V" are a number of endorheic basins. The eastern end of the Altyn-Shan is near the

Dangjin Pass Dangjin () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It stands on the south shore of the Bay of Asan. Dangjin borders Incheon, Pyeongtaek, and Hwaseong by sea, and Seosan, Yesan, and Asan by land. Its name means "Tang ferry," and ...

on the

Dunhuang Dunhuang () is a county-level city in Northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Dunhuang was a major ...

- Golmud road in far western

. East of the Altyn-Tagh the

border range Borders are usually defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative division ...

rises to the Qilian Mountains. The range separates the Tarim Basin, to the north, and Lake Ayakkum, to the south. The range can be divided into three portions. The southwest portion borders the

and is very rugged, with peaks reaching more than and many perennial snow fields. The central portion is lower in elevation, around . The eastern portion is higher in elevation, about and consists of a group of smaller ranges oriented in a south-east to north-west trend. Along the northern side of the mountains ran the main

Silk road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

trade route from China proper to the Tarim Basin and westward. The Altyn-Tagh and Qilians were sometimes called the Nan Shan ('south mountains') because they were south of the main route. Near the east end of the Altyn-Shan, the Gansu or Hexi Corridor ends and the Silk Road splits. One branch follows the Altyn-Tagh along the south side of the Tarim Basin while the other follows the north side. The southwestern part of the Altyn-Tagh range reaches snowy peaks of up to , although it descends to an average of in the narrow middle and eventually rises up to average as it meets the Qilian Mountains. There are a dearth of rivers and streams in these mountains, due to the aridity of the region. The western portion has some small streams that either head north into the desert or south into Lake Ayakkum. The remainder of the range is lacking in rivers.

Intermontane endorheic basins

Inside the "V" shaped area between the Altyn-Tagh and the main Kunlun range (which in this area is called Arka-Tagh) a number of endorheic basins are located. Within southeastern Xinjiang, the main of these basins is the Kumkol Basin () The two main lakes in this basin are the saline

Lake Aqqikkol Lake Aqqikkol is a saline lake in Xinjiang, China. The lake falls within the borders of Ruoqiang County, and is noted as being a gathering place for local and migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north ...

(also Ajig Kum Kul, Achak-kum; ; 37°05′N, 88°25′E, elevation) and Lake Ayakum (; 37°30′N, 89°30′E; elevation ). These lakes are two of the few noticeable bodies of water in this extremely arid area; the area around them is officially protected as the Altun Shan Nature Reserve. Farther east, in northwestern Qinghai, the much larger

Qaidam Basin 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 , one-fourth of which is covered by saline lakes and playas. Around ...

starts between the Altyn-Tagh and the Kunlun and extends almost to the east side of the plateau; the Altyn-Tagh separates the west side of this basin from the

Kumtagh Desert The Kumtag Desert (, "kum-tag" meaning "sand-mountain" in a number of Turkic languages), is an arid landform in Northwestern China, which was proclaimed as a national park in the year 2002. Definitions Broad The oval Tarim Basin with its central ...

Major Peaks

The four highest peaks are (), Yusupu Aleketag Shan (), Altun Shan () and Kogantag ().

Economic development

China National Highway 315 Constructed in 1954, the Qinghai-Xinjiang Highway, also known as the China National Highway 315 (G315) runs west from Xining, Qinghai towards Kashgar, Xinjiang. It is in length. In 1994 the departments of communication and transportation in Qingh ...

crosses the Altyn-Tagh on its way between Qinghai and Xinjiang. The Golmud-Korla Railway (under construction) will cross the Altyn-Tagh as well. The project involves the construction of the 13.195 km-long Altyn-Tagh Tunnel ().格库铁路新疆段首条隧道顺利贯通
(The first tunnel of the Xinjiang section of the Golmud-Korla Railway has been drilled through), 2017-10-31

Notes

Footnotes

References

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External links

NASA photos of Ayakkum Lake
and surrounding area {{Mountain ranges of China Highest points of Chinese provinces Mountain ranges of Gansu Mountain ranges of Xinjiang