Click on image for larger annotated version
This image captures almost all of Quinghai, the largest lake in China.
This lake has a surface elevation of 10,450 feet; partially filling one of
the eastern-most closed drainage basins of Central Asia. It is located in
the Quinghai Province on the Quinghai Tibetan Plateau. Small market towns,
including Tianjun and Ganga, dot the outskirts of Quinghai Lake. It is
here, in one of the most ethnically diverse areas of China, that Tibetan
nomads cash in their livestock.
On the shores of the lake, the Bar-headed Goose, Lesser Sandplover and
Great Black-headed and Brown-headed Gulls breed. The rare Black-necked
Crane and the endangered Pallas's Fish-Eagle can also be found there.
Quinghai Lake is used by scientists for telescope and sensor work because
it has the advantage of a high altitude that minimizes any water vapor
absorption.
Photojournal note:
EarthKam was formerly known as KidSat. To see images of KidSat, see
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/KidSat .
