Siling Lake (; ), (also known as Qilin) is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...

, China to the north of

Xainza :''not to be confused with Naktsang Town in the Haa District of southwestern Bhutan'' Xainza (also Naktsang,Dorje (2009), p. 397. Xainza Town or Shantsa) is a town and township-level administrative unit and seat of Shentsa County or Xainza County ...

Doijiang This is an alphabetical list of all populated places, including cities, towns and villages, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of western China. A *Alamdo *Alhar *Arza *Asog B *Baga, Tibet, Baga *Bagar *Baidi, Nagarzê County, Baidi *Baima * ...

is located near the lake. Administratively it belongs to

Xainza County Xainza County, also Shantsa, Shentsa, (; ) is a county within Nagqu of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. In 1999 the county had a population of 16,190. Geography The capital lies at Naktsang Town or Xainza. The county covers an area of . Un ...

and

Baingoin County Baingoin County (; ) is a county within Nagqu of the Tibet Autonomous Region. County got the name from the lake Drang-khog () which is in center of county. County lies between lakes Namtso and Siling. The county is divided into ten towns and ...

of the

Nagqu Nagqu (also Naqu, Nakchu, or Nagchu; ; ) is a prefecture-level city in the north of the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet. On May 7, 2018, the former Nagqu Prefecture was officially declared the sixth prefecture-level city in Tibet after Lhasa, ...

. Bangecuo is another nearby salt lake located east of Siling Lake, around four miles away.

Overview

The lake lies at an altitude of . It is a

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

. It is fed by the rivers Za'gya Zangbo (or Tsagya Tsangpo) (扎加藏布) and the Boques Tsangpo (波曲藏布). With an area of , Siling Co is the second largest saltwater lake in the northern

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...

and forms part of the

Siling Co National Nature Reserve Siling Lake (; ), (also known as Qilin) is a lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China to the north of Xainza. Doijiang is located near the lake. Administratively it belongs to Xainza County and Baingoin County of the Nagqu. Bangecuo is anoth ...

(also Selincuo Reserve or Xainza Nature Reserve). The reserve was established in 1993 and contains significant populations of

black-necked crane The black-necked Crane (''Grus nigricollis'') is a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and remote parts of India and Bhutan. It is 139 cm (55 in) long with a 235 cm (7.8 ft) wingspan, and it weighs ...

s and some 120 species of birds in total. The lake only has a single species of fish, ''

Gymnocypris selincuoensis ''Gymnocypris'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae endemic to China. Species There are currently 10 recognized species in this genus: * ''Gymnocypris chilianensis'' S. C. Li & S. Y. Chang, 1974 * ''Gymnocypris chui'' T. L. Tchang, T ...

'', exploited by fishermen. The prairie on the banks of the lake is traditionally used as grazing land for yaks and sheep. The temperature at the lake is an annual average of , the maximum annual temperature . The average rainfall is per year, 90 percent of which falls in the months of June to September, often in the summer as hail.

Climate

References

External links

Siling Co
{{Nagqu Prefecture Lakes of Tibet Xainza County Ramsar sites in China Saline lakes of Asia

Overview

Climate

See also

References

External links