Siling Lake

Siling Lake / Selincuo
Aerial view of Siling Lake, showing its surroundings.
Siling Lake / Selincuo is located in Tibet
Siling Lake / Selincuo
Siling Lake / Selincuo
LocationNagqu Prefecture, Tibet, China
Coordinates31°50′N 89°00′E / 31.833°N 89.000°E / 31.833; 89.000
Basin countriesChina
Surface area1,865 km2 (720 sq mi)
Surface elevation4,530 metres (14,860 ft)
Official nameTibet Selincuo Wetlands
Designated8 January 2018
Reference no.2352[1]
Map
Siling Lake

Siling Lake (Tibetan: སེར་གླིང་མཚོ, Wylie: ser gling mtsho, ZYPY: Sêling Co; Chinese: 色林错; pinyin: Sèlín cuò), (also known as Qilin or Selincuo) is a salt lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China to the north of Xainza. Doijiang is located near the lake. Administratively it belongs to Xainza County and Baingoin County of the Nagqu.

Bangecuo is another nearby salt lake[2] located east of Siling Lake,[3] around four miles away.

Overview

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The lake lies at an altitude of 4,530 metres (14,860 ft). It is a salt lake. It is fed by the rivers Za'gya Zangbo (or Tsagya Tsangpo) (扎加藏布) and the Boques Tsangpo (波曲藏布). With an area of 1,865 km2 (720 sq mi), Siling Co is the second largest saltwater lake in the northern Tibetan Plateau and forms part of the Siling Co National Nature Reserve (also Selincuo Reserve or Xainza Nature Reserve). The 400,000-hectare (990,000-acre) reserve was established in 1993 and contains significant populations of black-necked cranes and some 120 species of birds in total.[4][5] The lake only has a single species of fish, Gymnocypris selincuoensis, exploited by fishermen.[citation needed] The prairie on the banks of the lake is traditionally used as grazing land for yaks and sheep.

The temperature at the lake is an annual average of −3 to −0.6 °C (26.6 to 30.9 °F), the maximum annual temperature 9.4 °C (48.9 °F). The average rainfall is 290 mm (11 in) per year, 90 percent of which falls in the months of June to September, often in the summer as hail.

Climate

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Climate data for Siling Lake
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −4.7
(23.5)
−2.7
(27.1)
1.2
(34.2)
5.7
(42.3)
10.1
(50.2)
14.8
(58.6)
15.7
(60.3)
14.5
(58.1)
12.4
(54.3)
6.2
(43.2)
0.0
(32.0)
−3.2
(26.2)
5.8
(42.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) −11.9
(10.6)
−9.8
(14.4)
−5.9
(21.4)
−1.3
(29.7)
3.1
(37.6)
7.9
(46.2)
9.6
(49.3)
8.7
(47.7)
6.3
(43.3)
−0.3
(31.5)
−7.0
(19.4)
−10.4
(13.3)
−0.9
(30.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −19.0
(−2.2)
−16.8
(1.8)
−12.9
(8.8)
−8.2
(17.2)
−3.8
(25.2)
1.1
(34.0)
3.5
(38.3)
3.0
(37.4)
0.2
(32.4)
−6.7
(19.9)
−14.0
(6.8)
−17.6
(0.3)
−7.6
(18.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 2
(0.1)
2
(0.1)
2
(0.1)
5
(0.2)
13
(0.5)
39
(1.5)
78
(3.1)
74
(2.9)
39
(1.5)
7
(0.3)
1
(0.0)
1
(0.0)
263
(10.3)
Source: Climate-Data.org

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tibet Selincuo Wetlands". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ^ Meng, Kai and Shi, Xuhua and Wang, Erchie (February 2011). "High-altitude salt lake elevation changes and glacial ablation in Central Tibet, 2000–2010". Chinese Science Bulletin. 57 (5): 525–534. doi:10.1007/s11434-011-4849-5. S2CID 53638685.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Doin, Marie-Pierre; Twardzik, Cédric; Ducret, Gabriel; Lasserre, Cécile; Guillaso, Stéphane; Jianbao, Sun (2015). "InSAR measurement of the deformation around Siling Co Lake: Inferences on the lower crust viscosity in central Tibet". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 120 (7). American Geophysical Union (AGU): 5290–5310. Bibcode:2015JGRB..120.5290D. doi:10.1002/2014jb011768. ISSN 2169-9313. S2CID 128466292.
  4. ^ Zheng, Du; Zhang, Qingsong; Wu, Shaohong (2000). Mountain geoecology and sustainable development of the Tibetan Plateau. Springer. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-7923-6688-1. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  5. ^ 安才旦 (1 January 2003). Tibet China: Travel Guide. 五洲传播出版社. p. 44. ISBN 978-7-5085-0374-5. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
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