Qaidam Basin

The Qaidam Basin, also called Tsaidam Basin, is a desert region located in the north of the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai province. The name probably derives from the Mongolian and Tibetan from, referred to in the tsa'i dam " salt marsh or marshes ." It is, above all, to the wetlands along the main river Qaidam Hey, the ( here Burhan Budai Shan) drained from the easternmost foothills of the Kunlun Shan in the basin.

Administratively, the Qaidam Basin is part of the Autonomous County of Haixi Mongol and Tibetan.

Geography

The basin is surrounded on the Qinghai -Tibet plateau and mountains, which rise in some cases up to 6000 m at an altitude between 2600 m and 3300 m. To the south lies the Kunlun Mountains, in the north of the basin from the Altun Shan and the Nan Shan is limited. From east to west it measures about 850 km, from north to south about 300 km.

The basin is rich in mineral resources, including natural gas. As in the plateau south of the Qaidam Basin, there are also some salt lakes or salt flats.

The remarkable Qinghai Lake, which is often wrongly calculated the Qaidam Basin, but fills the largest lake in China from a private pool.

The largest lake in the Qaidam Basin, however, is the Dabsan Hu north of the main town of Golmud. The salinity of the salt lakes in the Qaidam Basin is so high that the water surface is partially completely encrusted and is therefore often not perceived as a lake. The salt in these lakes is particularly north of the city of Golmud reduced to a great extent and industrially processed.

Economy

Due to its wealth of natural resources, the landscape is also called "treasure basin ". Add the salt lakes can be found next to saline and potassium, magnesium, boron and lithium salts. In the northeast of the basin, there are lead-zinc deposits, in the west petroleum and natural gas are encouraged.

Population

Between 1946 and 1986 the population grew from 10,000 to 270,000.

Climate

Due to the high altitude and the great distance to the sea, there is a cold continental climate. The winters are long and very cold, the spring often brings sandstorms. Through the mountains, the rain is shielded so that parts of the basin are among the driest regions of China. Annual average temperature ( Golmud ): 4.9 ° C, annual rainfall is 40 mm / year.