Kanas Lake (,
Xiao'erjing
Xiao'erjing or Xiao'erjin or Xiaor jin or in its shortened form, Xiaojing, literally meaning "children's script" or "minor script" (cf. "original script" referring to the original Perso-Arabic script; zh, s=本经, t=本經, p=Běnjīng, Xiao ...
: كَانَاسِ خٗ;
Mongolian: Ханас нуур; ,
USY: Қанас Көли) is a lake in
Altay Prefecture
Altay Prefecture is located in Northern Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. It has an area of and a population of 561,667 (2000). It is a part of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. At the 2000 census, Altay was the only major subdivision of Ili ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
. The lake is located in a valley in the
Altai Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...
, near the very northern tip of
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 ...
and the autonomous region's borders with Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The lake was formed around 200,000 years ago during the
Quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...
period as a result of glacier movement. The crescent moon shaped lake has an estimated water storage capacity of 53.8 billion cubic meters, coupled with an average depth of around 120 meters.
The
Kanas River
The Kanas River () is a river in Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It starts from Khüiten Peak, runs at the foot of the Altai Mountains, and through the Kanas Lake. At its confluence with the Hemu River, the Burqin Rive ...
, flowing out of the lake, later merges with the Hemu River to form the Burqin River, which itself discharges into the
Irtysh River
The Irtysh ( otk, 𐰼𐱅𐰾:𐰇𐰏𐰕𐰏, Ertis ügüzüg, mn, Эрчис мөрөн, ''Erchis mörön'', "erchleh", "twirl"; russian: Иртыш; kk, Ертіс, Ertis, ; Chinese: 额尔齐斯河, pinyin: ''É'ěrqísī hé'', Xiao'erj ...
at Burqin Town, the county seat of
Burqin County
Burqin County is a county in Xinjiang, China and is under the administration of the Kazakh autonomous area of Altay Prefecture. It has an area of with a population of 70,000. The postcode is 836600.
Administrative divisions
* Town (镇 / ب ...
.
There is a large population of ethnic
Tuvans
The Tuvans ( tyv, Тывалар, Tıvalar) are a TurkicOtto Maenchen-Helfen, Journey to Tuva, p. 169 ethnic group indigenous to Siberia who live in Russia (Tuva), Mongolia, and China. They speak Tuvan, a Siberian Turkic language. They are als ...
and
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also parts o ...
in the Kanas valley. While most of these people have maintained their traditional
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
and
nomadic
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
life styles, many work in the developing tourism industry and have established facilities for
orienteering
Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...
,
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
,
rafting
Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...
,
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
,
paragliding
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...
and
camping
Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...
. The ''scenic spot'' is classified as a
AAAAA scenic area
AAAAA (5A) is awarded to the most important and best-maintained tourist attractions in the People's Republic of China, given the highest level in the rating categories used by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. As of 2020, there are 279 touris ...
by the
China National Tourism Administration
The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA; ) was a Chinese government authority responsible for the development of tourism in the country. The CNTA was subordinate to the State Council. Its headquarters are in Beijing, with regional branche ...
.
About 117 different kinds of birds live along the lake.
Giant fish
For several centuries there have been sightings of large lake creatures in the waters. First efforts in research of these legends were done by Yuan Guoying of
Xinjiang University
Xinjiang University (XJU) ( ug, شىنجاڭ ئۇنىۋېرستېتى, ; zh , s = 新疆大学 , p = Xīnjiāng Dàxué ) is one of the major universities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China and is a national ke ...
, who observed fish of enormous size in 1985. He and his students assessed that the fish could be 10 – 15 m long and weigh more than 4 tons, with total population in excess of 50 individuals.
Frequency of observation has increased in the 21st century, with the development of mass tourism. A video was taken and shown in the local Chinese media where numerous unidentifiable creatures can be seen.
According to
CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
10, the creatures living in the lake are speculated by Chinese scholars to be giant ''
Hucho taimen
Siberian taimen (''Hucho taimen''), also known as the common taimen (russian: Обыкнове́нный тайме́нь, Obyknovénnyĭ taĭménʹ), Siberian giant trout or Siberian salmon, is a species of salmon-like ray-finned fish from the ...
''.
YouKu
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Gallery
File:LakeKanas.jpg, Kanas view
File:Kanas glacier alpine.jpg, Kanas lake besides the alpine glacier
File:Kanas silk road tour.jpg, Kanas lake tour
File:Kanas Lake, China, LandSat image.jpg, Lake Kanas satellite Landsat 7
Landsat 7 is the seventh satellite of the Landsat program. Launched on 15 April 1999, Landsat 7's primary goal is to refresh the global archive of satellite photos, providing up-to-date and cloud-free images. The Landsat program is managed and ...
, 2006
File:Quaternary age Kanas lake 2009-0827.jpg, The Kanas River
The Kanas River () is a river in Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It starts from Khüiten Peak, runs at the foot of the Altai Mountains, and through the Kanas Lake. At its confluence with the Hemu River, the Burqin Rive ...
, part of the Irtysh River
The Irtysh ( otk, 𐰼𐱅𐰾:𐰇𐰏𐰕𐰏, Ertis ügüzüg, mn, Эрчис мөрөн, ''Erchis mörön'', "erchleh", "twirl"; russian: Иртыш; kk, Ертіс, Ertis, ; Chinese: 额尔齐斯河, pinyin: ''É'ěrqísī hé'', Xiao'erj ...
to the Arctic Ocean, view from rafting boat
See also
* Ake Kule Lake
* Tourism in China
Tourism in China is a growing industry that is becoming a significant part of the Chinese economy. The rate of tourism has expanded over the last few decades since the beginning of reform and opening-up. The emergence of a newly rich middle cl ...
References
External links
*
CCTV News: Unknown Creatures Videotaped by An Amateur in Lake Kanas
{{Authority control
Lakes of Xinjiang
AAAAA-rated tourist attractions
World Heritage Tentative List
Nature reserves in China
LKanas