The Gurbantünggüt Desert ( kk, Құрбантұңғыт шөлі; ug, قۇربانتۈڭغۈت قۇملۇقى, Qurbantüngghüt Qumluqi; zh, s=古尔班通古特沙漠 , t=古爾班通古特沙漠, p=Gǔ'ěrbāntōnggǔtè Shāmò) occupies a large part of the
Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian language, Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang" ...
n Basin in Northern
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 ...
, in the northwest of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. It is also called by some sources Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert, presumably from a Mongolian language.
It is about 50,000 square kilometers (19,000 mi
2) and around 300 to 600 meters above sea level. It is Xinjiang's second largest desert, after the
Taklamakan Desert
The Taklimakan or Taklamakan Desert (; zh, s=塔克拉玛干沙漠, p=Tǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Такәламаган Шамә; ug, تەكلىماكان قۇملۇقى, Täklimakan qumluqi; also spelled Taklimakan and T ...
, which is in the
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...
.
A remote rugged area, the Gurbantünggüt Desert is separated by the
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
mountains from the
Ili River
The Ili ( ug, ئىلى دەرياسى, Ili deryasi, Ili dəryasi, 6=Или Дәряси; kk, Ile, ; russian: Или; zh, c=伊犁河, p=Yīlí Hé, dng, Йили хә, Xiao'erjing: اِلِ حْ; mn, Ил, literally "Bareness") is a river sit ...
Basin,
Turfan Depression
The Turpan Depression or Turfan Depression, is a fault-bounded trough located around and south of the city- oasis of Turpan, in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in far Western China, about southeast of the regional capital Ürümqi. It includes ...
and
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...
of southern
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 ...
. A chain of cities, the largest of which is
Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
, are within a populated strip (the route of the
Lanxin Railway) south of the desert, which is irrigated by glacier-fed streams flowing from the Tian Shan. The
Irtysh–Karamay Canal, constructed during the first decade of the 21st century, skirts the desert's northwestern edge; the
Irtysh–Ürümqi Canal crosses the desert's central part.
Several salt lakes are in the western part of the Gurbantünggüt Desert. This includes the
Manas Lake
The Manas Lake () is a salt lake in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. It is located in the western part of the Dzungarian Basin, within the Gurbantünggüt Desert. Administratively, the lake is in Hoboksar Mongol Autonomous County; the close ...
(), which was in the past fed by the
Manas River, but now has mostly dried out, and the
Ailik Lake (), which receives water from the
Baiyang River (which is replenished by the Irtysh–Karamay Canal).
China National Highway 216
China National Highway 216 (G216) is a highway in Xinjiang and Tibet, China. With the 2013 National Highway Network Plan, the route was extended north to Hongzhanzui in Fuhai County on the border with Mongolia, and extended south to the bounda ...
crosses the desert in north–south, from
Altay City
Altay is a county-level city in Altay Prefecture within Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, in far Northern Xinjiang, China. The city centre is located on the slopes of Kelan River.
Administrative divisions
Subdistricts ()
*Jinshan (Altin Taw ...
to
Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
.
China National Highway 217 and the
Kuytun–Beitun Railway skirt it from the west and northwest. The
Ürümqi–Dzungaria Railway reaches into the desert's southeastern corner, known locally as ''Jiangjun Gobi'' (将军戈壁, "General's Desert").
The climate of the area is temperate, but very continental. The desert's ecological environment is very fragile and the impact of human activities on the environment, including the building of a trans-desert highway, has been increasingly significant.
The
remotest point of land from any sea is in this desert. According to some calculations, the precise point is at . It was pinpointed and reached on 27 June 1986 by British explorers
Nicholas Crane
Nicholas Crane (born 6 May 1954) is an English geographer, explorer, writer and broadcaster. Since 2004 he has written and presented four television series for BBC Two: ''Coast'', ''Great British Journeys'', '' Map Man'' and ''Town''.
Early ...
and Richard Crane; the location was described as being in the Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert. This position is over 2,600 kilometers (1,600 mi) from the nearest coastline.
Guinness Book of World Records
1991. By Donald McFarlan, Norris McWhirter. P. 138
See also
* Kumtag 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 ...
Footnotes
External links
The spatial distribution patterns of biological soil crusts in the Gurbantunggut Desert, Northern Xinjiang, China
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurbantunggut Desert
Deserts of China
Geography of Xinjiang