Zhalong Lake, A Serene High-Altitude Aquatic Wonderland

Maduo County, Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province

4.7

Introduction

Zhalong Lake and Eling Lake are the two largest freshwater lakes in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, commonly known as "Chaling Lake" which means white long lake. It is located in a structural depression in Mado County of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, on the west side of Eling Lake. The altitude of the lake surface is 4294 meters, the east-west length is 35 kilometers, the north-south width is 21.6 kilometers, with a total area of 526 square kilometers, an average depth of 8.9 meters, and a maximum capacity of 4.6 billion cubic meters of water in the northeastern part of the lake center. The two tributaries of the Yellow River, Naka River and Maqu River, converge here to form the Yellow River. A river flows into the southwestern corner of the lake, and a river flows out of the southeastern corner, while the main line of the Yellow River passes through the southern center of the lake. Because the Yellow River brings a large amount of sediment, when the wind and waves are raised on the lake surface, the lake water appears grayish-white, thus it is called the white long lake. There are many phytoplankton and abundant fish resources in the lake, making it one of the important Qinghai aquatic fishing bases along with Eling Lake. There are three small islands in the west of the lake, where thousands of migratory birds gather in summer, hence it is called Bird Island. The lakeside area is a sub-alpine meadow and an important pasture.

Address

Maduo County, Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province