Gobi Desert

Gobi (Mongolian Говь Gowj, Chinese戈壁, Pinyin GEBI ), formerly also Shamo is a steppe desert in Central Asia and the sixth largest desert in the world.

Designation

The name " Gobi " is ambiguous because it is not used in China and Mongolia on a specific area. Instead, the Mongolian word Gobi is (Ch GEBI, often戈壁滩/戈壁滩, GEBI tān, Gobi desert ') for the landscape form of the Central Asian rock and scree. The deserts hot in Chinese Shamo (沙漠, Shamo ), and this explains the (wrong ) name for the desert area is partially used.

The region is also known in China Hanhai (瀚海, hànhǎi, endless sea ').

Geography

The definition of the Gobi terms of their geographic location is unclear, the ambiguous, and thus confusing use of the word " Gobi " may be part of reason.

The broadest definition, the Gobi stretches across the entire arid region of Central Asia. This is the long strip of deserts and semi-deserts of Pamir (77 ° East ) to Hinggan Mountains (116 ° to 118 ° east) on the border with Manchuria. In the north are accordingly the Altai and Khangai the border, in the south of the mountain ranges of Nan Shan ( Altun Shan and Qilian Shan Mountains ) and the south upstream Kunlun Shan ( Prschewalskigebirge and Marco Polo Mountains), which the north of the arid Tibetan Plateau also form. This provision includes the Ordos Plateau, Dzungaria and the Taklamakan Desert; that these deserts form their own geological basins, however, points to the inaccuracy of this definition.

Théodore Monod limits the Gobi, however, strictly on the steppe in southern Mongolia and northern Inner Mongolia. In the West, close after Monod the Alashan and the Bejschan as independent deserts to. To the northwest lies the Altai Mountains, in the eastern Manchuria, the north is the Gobi in the Mongolian steppes and grasslands over. By winds, the Gobi is spreading further and in places is already approached moved up to 70 km to Beijing in the south.

The Gobi is not strictly true desert, but rather a monotonous semi-desert or desert steppe. Only three percent of the area are typical dune areas, which are called in Mongolia " Els ". In contrast to the typical associations with the Gobi is the largest part is covered with bare rock. In the desert, there are always lakes, including salt lakes.

The Gobi desert extends from west to east over 2000 km in length, the largest north- south distance is 800 km. Overall, the Gobi covered over one million square kilometers area. The average altitude is about 1,000 m.

Part deserts

Bejschan

The Bejschan (also Beishan ) is a mainly mountainous desert, it is therefore sometimes classified as a mountain. It provides a link between the Gobi desert to the east and the Tarim Basin in the west dar.

Monod classified as Bejschan own desert, as here occur certain animal and plant species, and it thus forms its own ecosystem. Then there is the separate geological structure. The demarcation of the area takes place on the south by the Nanschan Mountains, on the north by the Mongolian border, in the east by the river of the Gol Etsin, behind the Alashan connects.

Through the desert today runs a highway as a link from Xinjiang to the eastern China.

Alashan

The Alashan (also Alaschan, Mongolian spelling Alxa ) is a sandy desert southwest of the Gobi in China with the part name Tengger Desert ( Tenggeli Shamo ) and Badan Jaran ( Badanjilin Shamo / Badan Jilin Shamo ) is called. It is bounded on the south by the extension of the Nanschan Mountains in the southeast by the Yellow River, the east by the Alxa or Helan Shan Mountains, north of it again by the Yellow River. In the north it extends to the Mongolian border in the west, the Bejschan connects. The landscape has an overall height of 1000-1500 m. In Badan Jaran the Biluthu, the highest sand mountain in the world is with 1610 meters of altitude.

The naming is controversial, since some scientists the term " Alashan Gobi " use and regard them as part of the Gobi. The expression " Gobi " However, for the shape of the rock and rubble desert stand. Sometimes the term Alashan itself avoided. Instead, the region will continue in the deserts Badan Jaran and Tengger: divided ( Mongolian " on sky ").

According to the researchers Przhevalsky the Alashan is a plane, which probably once formed the bed of a large lake or sea. He deduced this from the planar shape of the region as a whole and the salt flats, including salt lakes in the deepest parts. In particular, in the Tengger Desert is nothing to see for hundreds of kilometers as a mere sand; hence the Mongolian designation " Tengger " for more sky. There are in the Alashan almost no oases. Near the adjacent mountains can also be found gravel instead of the yellow sand.

In the western part of the Alashan there are dunes up to 520 m high ( Biluthu ), and thus represent the highest dunes in the world. Of the 140 salt lakes, which are to be found among the dunes, some of the Mongols are considered sacred. Therefore, here are also Lamaist monasteries. The inhabitants are now mainly Han Chinese, Mongols and Hui.

Climate

The climate of the Gobi is continental, so with extremely low temperatures in winter and hot summers. Due to lack of water masses and low vegetation, the temperature differences between day and night throughout the year fluctuates greatly. In the winter months there are days when the thermometer drops below -65 ° C.

Although in the southeastern foothills of the monsoon reached the steppe, the area with 30 to 200 mm of rainfall per year is characterized by dryness. In particular, the cold winters are also very dry. In spring and early summer, however, can lead to icy sand and snow storms. Thus, the area is not unlike the hyperarid Taklamakan Desert.

Finds

In the Gobi many important fossils, including fossils have been found from different geological eras. Most discoveries of dinosaur eggs and nests come from all over here. In the last sections of the earth's were different climatic conditions with lush vegetation that provided correspondingly good living conditions for dinosaurs.

History

The Gobi is known in history primarily as part of the Mongolian Empire. Moreover, some important commercial cities of the Silk Road are on the southern edge of the Gobi.

Ecology

In the Gobi desert and surrounding regions numerous animal species are found, including wolves, Dschiggetai, goiter gazelle, gerbil and steppe polecat. There are also still some snow leopards.

The desert is home to some adapted to drought shrubs and grasses. The area is, however, very susceptible to grazing and vehicles. Human influences are mainly in the eastern part of larger, where more rain falls and livestock worth. In Mongolia, the grassland has been pushed back lately due to the larger proportion of goats in the herds. The goats provide valuable cashmere wool, but tear unlike sheep the grass by the roots. The high-quality cashmere wool is a major export of Mongolia and is almost 100% of major Chinese textile enterprises decreased. Since this increase in production was not promoted sustainable ecosystem is considered extremely endangered. Since the cattle herds were privatized in the 1990s, was also a state control of grazing land is no longer given.

In the People's Republic of China, desertification is also a serious problem, not least because it also relates to concentrated areas such as Beijing in the form of sand storms. In Inner Mongolia, trying to combat the over-grazing by large barriers of pasture land and resettlement. In addition esp. along broad lines of traffic protection plantations ( China's Green Wall ) was applied in order to limit the impact of sandstorms.

Pictures

The Trans-Mongolian railway runs through the Gobi

Sand dunes in the Gobi

Horses on the northern edge of the Gobi

Yurt in the Gobi

Salt lake in the Gobi

Oasis Dal, Ömnögöv Aimag, Mongolia

Vegetable growing in the oasis Dal, Mongolia

Sand dunes Khongoriin Els ( хонгорийн элс ) in the Gobi

Gobi near Dunhuang

Documentary

• TV movie sons of the desert Part 2: Through the Gobi and Taklamakan. Documentation of Bernd Liebner and Cheng How, 2002 ( with film footage of the cameraman Paul Lieberenz of the Chinese- Swedish Expedition ). Also on DVD: Complete Media Publishing, 2003, ISBN 3-8312-8811-9