Surigh Yilganing Kol (also known as ''Salikyila Genzhi Tso'', zh; 萨利吉勒干南库勒) is an

alkaline lake A soda lake or alkaline lake is a lake on the strongly alkaline side of neutrality, typically with a pH, pH value between 9 and 12. They are characterized by high concentrations of carbonate salts, typically sodium carbonate (and related salt com ...

located in the disputed territory 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 the ...

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 ...

province 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 ...

Location

The lake is located in the southeast part of ''Lingzi Thang'' plains, and can be reached through an unpaved road passing from north bank of Lake ''Songmuxi Co.'' The road originates as an offshoot of

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. At ...

at 35°38′46.34″N 80°18′33.85″E.

History

In the 1950s, prior to the

Sino-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 Tib ...

, India collected salt from this lake and two other lakes in Aksai Chin to study the economic feasibility of potential

salt mining Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations. History Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...

operations. Only

Aksai Chin Lake Aksai Chin Lake or Aksayqin Lake, () is an endorheic lake in the disputed region of Aksai Chin. 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". ...

was deemed economically viable.

References

Lakes of Ladakh Geography of Xinjiang Hotan Prefecture Territorial disputes of China Territorial disputes of India Aksai Chin {{lake-stub