Qaidam
The Qaidam, Tsaidam, or Chaidamu Basin is a hyperarid basin that occupies a large part of Haixi Prefecture in Qinghai Province, China. The basin covers an area of approximately , one-fourth of which is covered by saline lakes and playas. Around one third of the basin, about , is desert. Name ''Tshwa'i 'Dam'' is the Wylie romanization of the Tibetan name , meaning "Salt Marsh"; the Tibetan Pinyin romanization of the same name is ''Caidam''. ''Qaidam'' is the GNC romanization of its transcription into Mongolian; ''Tsaidam'' is a variant romanization of the same name. ''Chaidamu'' is the pinyin romanization of its transcription into Chinese characters; the same name was formerly romanized as the for the Chinese Postal Map. Geography Orographically, the Qaidam Basin is a comparatively low area in the northeastern part of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.. With an elevation of around , Qaidam forms a kind of shelf between Tibet to the south (around ) and Gansu to the north ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sanhu Depression
The Qarhan Playa or also misleadingly described as , is a playa in the Golmud and Dulan counties of Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai, China. Formerly a single unitary lake, it is now an expansive salt flat divided into four greater sections ( Dabusun, Big/ Small Bieletan, Suli, and N./ S. Huoluxun) which contain a number of smaller salt lakes, the largest of which is Dabusun Lake. The area is heavily exploited for its valuable salt, mineral, and rare earth reserves but parts are also protected as a national park and contribute to regional tourism. Name ''Qarhan'' is the GNC romanization of the area's Mongolian name, originally derived from the word for "white" (Modern , ''tsagaan'', or , ''čaɣan'').. ''Cha'erhan'' is the pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of , a modification of the original transcription into Chinese characters of the same name; it is also sometimes clipped into ''Charhan'' in English sources. The Chinese name, which does not distinguish betwe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Haixi Prefecture
Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture ( zh, c=海西蒙古族藏族自治州; ; ), locally also known as Qaidam Prefecture (; ; zh, s=柴达木), is an autonomous prefecture occupying much of the northern half of (as well as part of the southwest of) Qinghai Province, China. It has an area of and its seat is Delingha. The name of the prefecture literally means "west of (Qinghai) Lake." Geladandong Mountain, the source of the Yangtze River, is located here. History After 1949, the People's Government of Dulan County was founded and the area was renamed Dulan Autonomous District ( zh, labels=no, s=都兰自治区); in 1954, Dulan was renamed Haixi Mongol, Tibetan and Kazakh Autonomous District ( zh, labels=no, s=海西蒙藏哈萨克族自治区) and in 1955, Haixi Mongol, Tibetan and Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture ( zh, labels=no, c=海西蒙藏哈萨克族自治州). In 1963, it was renamed " zh, labels=no, c=海西蒙古族藏族哈萨克族自治州" (with the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Qinghai Province
Qinghai is an inland province in Northwestern China. It is the largest province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xining. Qinghai borders Gansu on the northeast, Xinjiang on the northwest, Sichuan on the southeast and the Tibet Autonomous Region on the southwest. Qinghai province was established in 1928 during the period of the Republic of China, and until 1949 was ruled by Chinese Muslim warlords known as the Ma clique. The Chinese name "Qinghai" is after Qinghai Lake, the largest lake in China. The lake is known as Tso ngon in Tibetan, and as Kokonor Lake in English, derived from the Mongol Oirat name for Qinghai Lake. Both Tso ngon and Kokonor are names found in historic documents to describe the region.Gangchen Khishong, 2001. ''Tibet and Manchu: An Assessment of Tibet-Manchu Relations in Five Phases of Development''. Dharmasala: Narthang Press, p.1-70. Located mostly on the Tibetan P ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of Himalayas and the Indian subcontinent, and to the south of Tarim Basin and Mongolian Plateau. Geopolitically, it covers most of the Tibet Autonomous Region, most of Qinghai, western half of Sichuan, Southern Gansu provinces, southern Xinjiang province in Western China, Bhutan, the Administrative divisions of India, Indian regions of Ladakh and Lahaul and Spiti district, Lahaul and Spiti (Himachal Pradesh) as well as Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan, northwestern Nepal, eastern Tajikistan and southern Kyrgyzstan. It stretches approximately north to south and east to west. It is the world's highest and largest plateau above sea level, with an area of . With an average elevation exceeding and being surrounded by imposing mountain ranges that har ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Qilian Mountains
The Qilian Mountains (), together with the Altyn-Tagh sometimes known as the Nan Shan, as it is to the south of the Hexi Corridor, is a northern outlier of the Kunlun Mountains, forming the border between Qinghai and the Gansu provinces of northern China. Geography The range stretches from the south of Dunhuang some 800 km to the southeast, forming the northeastern escarpment of the Tibetan Plateau and the southwestern border of the Hexi Corridor. The eponymous Qilian Shan peak, situated some 60 km south of Jiuquan, at , rises to 5,547 m. It is the highest peak of the main range, but there are two higher peaks further south, Kangze'gyai at wit5,808 mand Qaidam Shan peak at wit5,759 m Other major peaks include Gangshiqia Peak in the east. The Nan-Shan range continues to the west as Yema Shan (5,250 m) and Altun Shan (Altyn Tagh) (5,798 m). To the east, it passes north of Qinghai Lake, terminating as Daban Shan and Xinglong Shan near Lanzhou, with Maoma Sh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sink (geography)
An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent and seasonal lakes and swamps that equilibrate through evaporation. Endorheic basins are also called closed basins, terminal basins, and internal drainage systems. Endorheic regions contrast with open lakes (exorheic regions), where surface waters eventually drain into the ocean. In general, water basins with subsurface outflows that lead to the ocean are not considered endorheic; but cryptorheic. Endorheic basins constitute local base levels, defining a limit of the erosion and deposition processes of nearby areas. Endorheic water bodies include the Caspian Sea, which is the world's largest inland body of water. Etymology The term ''endorheic'' derives from the French word , which combines ( 'within') and 'flow'. Endorheic lakes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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37° N
Following are circles of latitude between the 35th parallel north and the 40th parallel north: 36th parallel north The 36th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 36 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean. In the ancient Mediterranean world, its role for navigation and geography was similar to that played by the Equator today. From 7 April 1991 to 31 December 1996, the parallel defined the limit of the northern no-fly zone in Iraq. At this latitude the sun is visible for 14 hours, 36 minutes during the summer solstice and 9 hours, 43 minutes during the winter solstice. United States In the United States, the 36th parallel north is occasionally used as a rough northern boundary for the Sun Belt, a region spanning most Southern and Southwestern states and comprising most of the nation's warmest climates. Cities and landmarks close to the parallel inclu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Orography
Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology,'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discipline of geomorphology. The term orography comes from the Greek: , hill, , to write. Uses Mountain ranges and elevated land masses have a major impact on global climate. For instance, the elevated areas of East Africa substantially determine the strength of the Indian monsoon.Srinivasan, J., Nanjundiah, Ravi S. and Chakraborty, Arindam (2005)"Impact of Orography on the Simulation of Monsoon Climate in a General Circulation Model" Indian Institute of Science. In scientific models, such as general circulation models, orography defines the lower boundary of the model over land. When a river's tributaries or settlements by the river are listed in 'orographic sequence', they are in order from the highest (nearest the source of the river) to t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gansu
Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Tibetan and Loess Plateau, Loess plateaus and borders Mongolia's Govi-Altai Province, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province. Part of Gansu's territory is located in the Gobi Desert. The Qilian Mountains, Qilian mountains are located in the south of the Province. Gansu has a population of 26 million, ranking List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, 22nd in China. Its population is mostly Han Chinese, Han, along with Hui people, Hui, Dongxiangs, Dongxiang and Tibetan people, Tibetan minorities. The most common language is Mandarin. Gansu is among the poorest administrative divi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Qinghai Lake
Qinghai Lake is the list of lakes by area, largest lakes of China, lake in China. Located in an endorheic basin in Qinghai Province, to which it gave its name, Qinghai Lake is classified as an alkaline lake, alkaline saline lake, salt lake. The lake has fluctuated in size, shrinking over much of the 20th century but increasing since 2004. It had a surface area of , an average depth of , and a maximum depth of in 2008. Names ''Qinghai'' is the Chinese tones, atonal pinyin romanization of Chinese, romanisation of the Standard Chinese, Mandarin pronunciation of the Chinese language, Chinese name Although modern Chinese distinguishes between the colors blue and green, Blue–green distinction in language, this distinction did not exist in classical Chinese. The color (''qīng'') was Blue–green distinction in language#Chinese, a "single" color inclusive of both blue and green as separate shades. The name is thus variously translated as "Blue Sea", "Green Sea", "Blue-Green Se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The state's List of capitals in the United States, capital is Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and its most populous city is Virginia Beach, Virginia, Virginia Beach. Its most populous subdivision is Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, part of Northern Virginia, where slightly over a third of Virginia's population of more than 8.8million live. Eastern Virginia is part of the Atlantic Plain, and the Middle Peninsula forms the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Central Virginia lies predominantly in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont, the foothill region of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which cross the western and southwestern parts of the state. The fertile Shenandoah Valley fosters the state's mo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Algeria–Niger border, the southeast by Niger; to Algeria–Western Sahara border, the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara; to Algeria–Morocco border, the west by Morocco; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The capital and List of cities in Algeria, largest city is Algiers, located in the far north on the Mediterranean coast. Inhabited since prehistory, Algeria has been at the crossroads of numerous cultures and civilisations, including the Phoenicians, Numidians, Ancient Rome, Romans, Vandals, and Byzantine Greeks. Its modern identity is rooted in centuries of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arab Muslim migration waves since Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, the seventh century and the subsequent Arabization, Arabisation ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |