![Yarlung Zangpo Grand Canyon, Tibet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Yarlung_Zangpo_Grand_Canyon%2C_Tibet.jpg)
The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, also known as the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, the Tsangpo Canyon, the Brahmaputra Canyon or the Tsangpo Gorge ('), is a
canyon along the
Yarlung Tsangpo River
The Yarlung Tsangpo, also called Yarlung Zangbo () is the upper stream of the Brahmaputra River located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the longest river of Tibet and the fifth longest in China. The upper section is also called D ...
in
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of à ...
,
China. It is the deepest canyon in the world,
[Canyon]
National Geographic Encyclopedic Entry, retrieved 15 July 2021. and at is slightly longer than the
Grand Canyon in the United States, making it one of the world's largest.
[ The Yarlung Tsangpo (Tibetan name for the upper course of the ]Brahmaputra
The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. I ...
) originates near Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude of ...
and runs east for about , draining a northern section of the Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
before it enters the gorge just downstream of Pei, Tibet, near the settlement of Zhibe. The canyon has a length of about as the gorge bends around Mount Namcha Barwa
Namcha Barwa or Namchabarwa (; Chinese: å—迦巴瓦峰, Pinyin: ''NánjiÄbÄwÇŽ FÄ“ng'') is a mountain peak lying in Tibet in the region of Pemako. The traditional definition of the Himalaya extending from the Indus River to the Brahmaputra ...
() and cuts its way through the eastern Himalayan range. Its waters drop from about near Pei to about at the end of the Upper Gorge where the Po Tsangpo River enters. The river continues through the Lower Gorge to the Indian border at an elevation of . The river then enters Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...
and eventually becomes the Brahmaputra.
Canyon depth
As the canyon passes between the peaks of the Namcha Barwa
Namcha Barwa or Namchabarwa (; Chinese: å—迦巴瓦峰, Pinyin: ''NánjiÄbÄwÇŽ FÄ“ng'') is a mountain peak lying in Tibet in the region of Pemako. The traditional definition of the Himalaya extending from the Indus River to the Brahmaputra ...
(Namjabarwa) and Gyala Peri
Gyala Peri ( Chinese: åŠ æ‹‰ç™½åž’, Pinyin: ''JiÄlÄbáilÄ›i'') is a peak just beyond the eastern end of the Himalayas at the entrance to Tsangpo gorge. It is part of Nyenchen Tanglha Shan, although it is sometimes included in Namcha Barwa Hi ...
mountains, it reaches an average depth of about 5,000 m (16,000 feet) around Namcha Barwa. The canyon's average depth ''overall'' is about 2,268 m (7,440 feet), the deepest depth reaches 6,009 m (19,714 feet). This is the deepest canyon on land. This part of the canyon is at . Namcha Barwa, 7,782 m (25,531 feet) high, is at , and Gyala Peri, at 7,234 m (23,733 feet), is at .
Ecosystem
The gorge has a unique ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
with species of animals and plants barely explored and affected by human influence. Its climate ranges from subtropical to Arctic. The highest temperature in Tibet is and is recorded near the border of India at about above sea level. The rare takin
The takin (''Budorcas taxicolor''; ), also called cattle chamois or gnu goat, is a large species of ungulate of the subfamily Caprinae found in the eastern Himalayas. It includes four subspecies: the Mishmi takin (''B. t. taxicolor''), the g ...
is one of the animals hunted by the local tribes.
The ''Everest of Rivers''
Western interest in the Tsangpo began in the 19th century when British explorers and geographers speculated where Tibet's east-flowing Tsangpo ended up, suspecting the Brahmaputra. Since British citizens were not allowed to enter Tibet they recruited Indian "pundits
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowle ...
" to do the footwork. Kinthup from Sikkim entered the gorge near Gyala, but it proved to be impenetrable. In 1880 Kinthup was sent back to test the Brahmaputra theory by releasing 500 specially marked logs into the river at a prearranged time. His British boss Captain Henry Harman posted men on the Dihang-Brahmaputra to watch for their arrival. However, Kinthup was sold into slavery, escaped, and ended up employed at a monastery. On three leaves of absence he managed to craft the logs, send a letter from Lhasa with his new intended schedule, and send off the logs. Four years had passed. Unfortunately his note to alert the British got misdirected, his boss had left India, and nobody checked for the appearance of the logs.
In 1913, Frederick Marshman Bailey
Frederick Marshman Bailey (3 February 1882, Lahore, British India – 17 April 1967, Stiffkey, Norfolk) was a British political officer and one of the last protagonists of ''The Great Game.'' His expeditions in Tibet and Assam Himalaya gave h ...
and Henry Morshead
Henry Treise Morshead (23 November 1882 – 17 May 1931) was an English surveyor, explorer and mountaineer. He is remembered for several achievements – with Frederick Bailey he explored the Tsangpo Gorge and finally confirmed that the Yarlun ...
launched an expedition into the gorge that finally confirmed that the Tsangpo was indeed the upper Brahmaputra. Frank Kingdon-Ward
Francis Kingdon-Ward, born Francis Kingdon Ward OBE, (6 November 1885 in Manchester – 8 April 1958) was an English botanist, explorer, plant collector and author. He published most of his books as Frank Kingdon-Ward and this hyphenated for ...
started an expedition in 1924 in hopes of finding a major waterfall explaining the difference in altitude between the Tsangpo and the Brahmaputra. It turned out that the gorge has a series of relatively steep sections. Among them was a waterfall he named "Rainbow Falls", not as big as he had hoped.
The area was closed after China invaded Tibet and disputed the location of the border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
in 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 Tibet ...
. The Chinese government
The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, m ...
resumed issuing permits in the 1990s. Since then the gorge has also been visited by kayakers
A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' ().
The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...
. It has been called the "Everest of Rivers" because of the extreme conditions. The first attempt was made in 1993 by a Japanese group who lost one member on the river. In October 1998 an expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...
attempted to kayak the entire gorge. Troubled by unanticipated high water levels, it ended in tragedy when Doug Gordon was lost. In January–February 2002 an international group with Scott Lindgren, Steve Fisher, Mike Abbott, Allan Ellard, Dustin Knapp, and Johnnie and Willie Kern completed the first full descent of the upper Tsangpo gorge section.
The largest waterfalls of the gorge (near Tsangpo Badong, Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
: ) were visited in 1998, by a team consisting of Ken Storm, Hamid Sarder, Ian Baker and their Monpa guides. They estimated the height of the falls to be about . The falls and rest of the Pemako area are sacred to Tibetan Buddhists who had concealed them from outsiders including the Chinese authorities. In 2005 Chinese National Geography named them China's most beautiful waterfalls.
There are two waterfalls in this section: Rainbow Falls (about high) at and Hidden Falls just downstream at (about high).
Yarlung Tsangpo Hydroelectric and Water Diversion Project
While the government of the PRC
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 ...
has declared the establishment of a "Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon National Reservation", there have also been governmental plans and feasibility studies for a major dam to harness hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
and divert water to other areas in China. The size of the dam in the Tsongpo gorge would exceed that of Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world' ...
as it is anticipated that such a plant would generate 50,000 megawatts of electricity, more than twice the output of Three Gorges. It is feared that there will be displacement of local populations, destruction of ecosystems, and an impact for downstream people in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. The project is criticized by India because of its potential negative impact upon the residents downstream.
In 1999, R.B. Cathcart suggested that a fabric dam—inflatable with freshwater or air—could block the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon upstream of Namcha Barwa. Water would then be conveyed via a hard rock tunnel to a point downstream from that mountain.
Steel dams are more advantageous and economical in remote hilly terrain at high altitude for diverting the run off water of the river to power generating units.
References in media
* The gorges may have helped inspire the idea of Shangri-La
Shangri-La is a fictional place in Asia's Kunlun Mountains (昆仑山), Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by English author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, ...
in James Hilton's book ''Lost Horizon
''Lost Horizon'' is a 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton. The book was turned into a film, also called '' Lost Horizon'', in 1937 by director Frank Capra. It is best remembered as the origin of Shangri-La, a fictional utopian lamas ...
'' in 1933.
* It is a main part of the first episode in the 1984 documentary series "The Living Planet" with David Attenborough
* In the 2007 fighting game ''Akatsuki Blitzkampf
is a series of Japanese dÅjin 2D fighting games, developed by the dÅjin circle SUBTLE STYLE for Microsoft Windows and arcades. It takes place in an alternate 21 century in the year 200X - 20XX, where most of its characters wears outfits from W ...
'', the biggest base and research facility of the villainous organization ''Gessellschaft'' is hidden in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, referred to in-story as the "Tsangpo Ravine". The second part of the game takes place in said base, with the player fighting their way inside it until they reach the last enemy.
See also
* Nyingchi
Nyingchi (), also known as Linzhi and as Nyingtri, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. The administrative seat of Nyingchi is Bayi District.
Nyingchi is the location of Buchu Monastery.
Economy ...
* Zangmu Dam
The Zangmu Dam (è—木) is a gravity dam on the Yarlung Zangbo/Brahmaputra River northwest of Gyaca in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. This dam is built a few kilometers from the Bhutan-India border. The purpose of the dam is hydroelectri ...
* South–North Water Transfer Project
The South–North Water Transfer Project, also translated as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project () is a multi-decade infrastructure mega-project in China. Ultimately it aims to channel 44.8 billion cubic meters of fresh water annually f ...
* Inga dams
The Inga Dams are two hydroelectric dams connected to one of the largest waterfalls in the world, Inga Falls. They are located in the western Democratic Republic of the Congo and 140 miles southwest of Kinshasa.
Inga Falls on the Congo Ri ...
* Bailey–Morshead exploration of Tsangpo Gorge
Notes
References
Further reading
* Wick Walker (2000). ''Courting the Diamond Sow : A Whitewater Expedition on Tibet's Forbidden River''. National Geographic. .
* Todd Balf (2001). ''The Last River : The Tragic Race for Shangri-la''. Three Rivers Press. .
* Michael Mcrae (2002). ''The Siege of Shangri-La : The Quest for Tibet's Sacred Hidden Paradise''. Broadway. . .
* Peter Heller (2004). ''Hell or High Water : Surviving Tibet's Tsangpo River''. Rodale Books. .
* Ian Baker (2004). ''The Heart of the World : A journey to the last secret place.'' Souvenir Press. .
* F.Kingdon Ward (Author), Kenneth Cox (Editor), Ken Storm Jr (Editor), Ian Baker (Editor) Riddle of the Tsangpo Gorges: Retracing the Epic Journey of 1924–25 in South-East Tibet (Hardcover) Antique Collectors' Club Ltd (1 Jan 1999)
Videos
* Scott Lindgren (2002), "Into the Tsangpo Gorge". Slproductions. ASIN B0006FKL2Q.
''Into the Tsangpo'' Gorge Documentary
External links
Douglas Gordon at University of Utah
{{Authority control
Canyons and gorges of China
Rivers of Tibet
Landforms of Tibet
Extreme points of Earth