Search Results - Tibetan Plateau
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The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai-Tibetan (Qingzang) Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in China and Ladakh in Kashmir, India. It occupies an area of around 1,000 by 2,500 kilometers, and has an average elevation of over 4,500 meters. Sometimes called "the roof of the world," it is the highest and biggest plateau, with an area of 2.5 million square kilometers (about four times the size of Texas or France). [1]The Tibetan Plateau is surrounded by towering mountain ranges.[2] It is bordered to the northwest by the Kunlun Range which separates it from the Tarim Basin, and to the northeast by the Qilian Range which separates the plateau from the Gobi Desert. Near the south the plateau is transected by the Yarlung Tsangpo River valley which flows along the base of the Himalayas, and by the vast Indo-Gangetic Plain. To the east and southeast the plateau gives way to the forested gorge and ridge geography of the mountainous headwaters of the Salween, Mekong, and Yangtze rivers in western Sichuan and southwest Qinghai. In the west it is embraced by the curve of the rugged Karakoram range of northern Kashmir. The plateau is a high-altitude arid steppe interspersed with mountain ranges and large brackish lakes. Annual precipitation ranges from 100 mm to 300 mm and falls mainly as hailstorms. The southern and eastern edges of the steppe have grasslands which can sustainably support populations of nomadic herdsmen, although frost occurs for six months of the year. Proceeding to the north and northwest, the plateau becomes progressively higher, colder and drier, until reaching the remote Changtang region in the northwestern part of the plateau. Here the average altitude exceeds 5,000 meters (16,500 feet) and year-round temperatures average -4 °C, dipping to -40 °C in winter. As a result of this extremely inhospitable environment, the Changtang region (together with the adjoining Kekexili region) is the least populated region in Asia, and the third least populated area in the world after Antarctica and northern Greenland.[citation needed] For extensive parts of the plateau, permafrost occurs.
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Showing 1 to 3 of 3 Articles matching 'Tibetan Plateau' in related articles. |
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1. Trekking in Ladakh, The land of the high passes.
September 17, 2008
Ladakh, literally the 'land of high passes', separates the peaks of Western Himalaya from the vast Tibetan plateau. Opened up to tourism in 1974, Ladakh is often called 'Little Tibet', due to its similarities in topography and culture with nearby Tibet. This is particularly evident in the Indus Valley with its whitewashed Gompas (Buddhist monasteries) precariously perched on hillsides. Padum, the capital of more remote Zanskar, shares this Buddhist heritage, as does the Nubra valley, while Kargil and the Suru valley are predominantly Shiite Muslim. History Ladakh's earliest inhabitants... (read more)
Author: Raj Tamang
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2. Himalaya or Snow Abode
January 06, 2006
The himalaya is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. By extension, it is also the name of the massive mountain system, which includes the Himalaya proper, the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and a host of minor ranges extending from the Pamir Knot. Together, the Himalayan mountain system is the planet's highest and home to all fourteen of the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders, including Mount Everest. To comprehend the enormous scale of Himalayan peaks, consider that Aconcagua, in the Andes, is the highest peak outside the Himalaya at 22,... (read more)
Author: Barry Hooper
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3. Himalaya or Snow Abode
January 06, 2006
The himalaya is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. By extension, it is also the name of the massive mountain system, which includes the Himalaya proper, the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and a host of minor ranges extending from the Pamir Knot. Together, the Himalayan mountain system is the planet's highest and home to all fourteen of the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders, including Mount Everest. To comprehend the enormous scale of Himalayan peaks, consider that Aconcagua, in the Andes, is the highest peak outside the Himalaya at 22,... (read more)
Author: Barry Hooper
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