The Gurbantünggüt Desert ( قۇربانتۇڭعىت ءشولى; ; zh, s=古尔班通古特沙漠 , t=古爾班通古特沙漠, p=Gǔ'ěrbāntōnggǔtè Shāmò) occupies a large part of the
Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand'), also known as Northern Xinjiang or Beijiang, is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. Bound by the Altai Mountains to the n ...
n Basin in Northern
Xinjiang
Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
, in the northwest of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. It is also called by some sources Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert, from the Mongolian language (means "rich desert").
It is about 50,000 square kilometers (19,000 mi
2) and around 300 to 600 meters above sea level. It is Xinjiang's second largest desert, after the
Taklamakan Desert
The Taklamakan Desert ( ) is a desert in northwest China's Xinjiang region. Located inside the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang, it is bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to the south, the Pamir Mountains to the west, the Tian Shan range to the ...
, which is in the
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, Ch ...
.
A remote rugged area, the Gurbantünggüt Desert is separated by the
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...
mountains from the
Ili River
The Ili River (, , ; ; ; zh, 伊犁河, ; , ; , ) is a river in Northwest China and Southeastern Kazakhstan. It flows from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to the Almaty Region in Kazakhstan.
It ...
Basin,
Turfan Depression and
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, Ch ...
of southern
Xinjiang
Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
. A chain of cities, the largest of which is
Ürümqi
Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an, also the ...
, are within a populated strip (the route of the
Lanxin Railway) south of the desert, which is irrigated by glacier-fed streams flowing from the Tian Shan. The
Irtysh–Karamay Canal, constructed during the first decade of the 21st century, skirts the desert's northwestern edge; the
Irtysh–Ürümqi Canal crosses the desert's central part.
Several salt lakes are in the western part of the Gurbantünggüt Desert. This includes the
Manas Lake (), which was in the past fed by the
Manas River, but now has mostly dried out, and the
Ailik Lake (), which receives water from the
Baiyang River (which is replenished by the Irtysh–Karamay Canal).
China National Highway 216 crosses the desert in north–south, from
Altay City
Altay or Aletai is a county-level city in Altay Prefecture within Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, in far Northern Xinjiang, China. The city centre is located on the banks of Kelan River.
Administrative divisions
Altay City is divided into ...
to
Ürümqi
Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an, also the ...
.
China National Highway 217 and the
Kuytun–Beitun Railway skirt it from the west and northwest. The
Ürümqi–Dzungaria Railway reaches into the desert's southeastern corner, known locally as ''Jiangjun Gobi'' (将军戈壁, "General's Desert").
The climate of the area is temperate, but very continental. The desert's ecological environment is very fragile and the impact of human activities on the environment, including the building of a trans-desert highway, has been increasingly significant.
The
remotest point of land from any sea is in this desert. According to some calculations, the precise point is at . It was pinpointed and reached on 27 June 1986 by British explorers
Nicholas Crane and Richard Crane; the location was described as being in the Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert. This position is over 2,600 kilometers (1,600 mi) from the nearest coastline.
Guinness Book of World Records
1991. By Donald McFarlan, Norris McWhirter. P. 138
See also
* Kumtag Desert
Footnotes
External links
The spatial distribution patterns of biological soil crusts in the Gurbantunggut Desert, Northern Xinjiang, China
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurbantunggut Desert
Deserts of China
Geography of Xinjiang