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Aksai Chin Lake or Aksayqin Lake, () is an
The lake is part of
endorheic
An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...
lake in the disputed region of Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of t ...
. The plateau is administered by China but also claimed by India. Its Tibetan/Ladakhi name is Amtogor Lake which means "encounter with a round object".
Geography
The lake is part of Hotan County
Hotan County (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a county in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. Almost all the residents of t ...
, Hotan Prefecture
Hotan PrefectureThe official spelling is "Hotan" according to (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is located in the Tarim Basin region of southwestern Xinjiang, China, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region ...
, Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
, The lake is located just south of the Kunlun Mountains. It is approximately long and - across. It is fed by the river of the same name, ''Aksai Chin River''.
China National Highway 219
China National Highway 219 (G219; Chinese: '' Guódào219'') is a highway which runs along the entire western and southern border of the People's Republic of China, from Kom-Kanas Mongolian ethnic township in Xinjiang to Dongxing in Guangxi. ...
passes some to the southwest of the lake on its way from Shiquanhe
Shiquanhe (), known in Tibetan as Sênggêkanbab () or Sênggêzangbo, is the main town and administrative seat of Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Shiquanhe is located on the bank of Sênggê Zangbo, the source stream of the I ...
, Tibet to Yarkand
Yarkant County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous ...
, Xinjiang. The lake itself is within Hotan County
Hotan County (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a county in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. Almost all the residents of t ...
of Xinjiang, and the official Xinjiang-Tibet border runs about east of the lake.
History
In the 1950s, prior to theSino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...
, India collected salt from this lake and two other lakes in Aksai Chin to study the economic feasibility of potential salt mining operations. This lake was the only lake deemed economically viable.
See also
*List of locations in Aksai Chin
This is a list of basins, camping grounds, lakes, mountains, mountain passes, outposts, plains, rivers, ruins, settlements, streams, valleys, villages, and other geographical features located in (or partially included in) the sparsely populated Ak ...
Notes
References
{{reflist Aksai Chin Lakes of Xinjiang Hotan Prefecture China–India border