Chaka Salt Lake
Salt lake in Qinghai Province, China
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Chaka Salt Lake (Chinese: 茶卡盐湖; pinyin: Chákǎ Yánhú; Standard Tibetan: ཚྭ་ཁ་མཚོ་) is a salt lake in Ulan County, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai, China.[1][2] The oval-shaped lake is located near the eastern end of Qaidam Basin, 298 kilometres (185 mi) to the west of the provincial capital Xining.[3] The name "Chaka" (ཚྭ་ཁ) means "salt lake" in Tibetan.[4]
| Chaka Salt Lake | |
|---|---|
| |
  Chaka Salt Lake | |
| Location | Ulan County, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China |
| Coordinates | 36°41′51″N 99°06′20″E |
| Type | Salt lake |
| Basin countries | China |
| Max. length | 15.8 km (9.8 mi) |
| Max. width | 9.2 km (5.7 mi) |
| Surface area | 105 km2 (41 sq mi) |
| Surface elevation | 3,100 m (10,170 ft) |
| Settlements | Chaka, Ulan County |
A branch railway connects the town of Chaka to the Qinghai–Tibet railway. Originally constructed for transporting salt, the line is nowadays used by tourist trains from Xining, with a travel time of over 4 hours.[5][6]
Chaka Lake is a major tourist destination and a key salt mine in Qinghai. In 2018, it received more than 3 million visitors.[3][7] The lake is famous for its crystal-blue water and reflective lake bed, and is popularly known as "Mirror of the Sky".[4]
Climate
| Climate data for Chaka, Ulan County, elevation 3,088 m (10,131 ft), (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −2.2 (28.0) |
1.7 (35.1) |
6.8 (44.2) |
12.7 (54.9) |
16.6 (61.9) |
19.2 (66.6) |
21.5 (70.7) |
21.3 (70.3) |
17.2 (63.0) |
10.9 (51.6) |
4.1 (39.4) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
10.7 (51.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −10.9 (12.4) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
4.5 (40.1) |
9.2 (48.6) |
12.5 (54.5) |
14.9 (58.8) |
14.3 (57.7) |
9.9 (49.8) |
2.6 (36.7) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−9.8 (14.4) |
2.8 (37.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −18.2 (−0.8) |
−14.7 (5.5) |
−9.2 (15.4) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
2.1 (35.8) |
6.4 (43.5) |
9.0 (48.2) |
8.4 (47.1) |
4.1 (39.4) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−12.1 (10.2) |
−16.9 (1.6) |
−4.0 (24.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 1.2 (0.05) |
1.8 (0.07) |
3.3 (0.13) |
7.5 (0.30) |
26.3 (1.04) |
51.3 (2.02) |
58.8 (2.31) |
48.2 (1.90) |
27.2 (1.07) |
4.9 (0.19) |
1.4 (0.06) |
0.5 (0.02) |
232.4 (9.16) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 8.4 | 12.2 | 13.6 | 11.0 | 7.8 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 67.4 |
| Average snowy days | 2.8 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 21.3 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 36 | 33 | 31 | 33 | 44 | 55 | 59 | 58 | 56 | 43 | 35 | 35 | 43 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 231.2 | 221.4 | 255.2 | 269.9 | 267.5 | 233.5 | 248.5 | 253.2 | 235.7 | 261.3 | 245.1 | 233.5 | 2,956 |
| Percentage possible sunshine | 75 | 72 | 68 | 68 | 61 | 53 | 56 | 61 | 64 | 76 | 81 | 78 | 68 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration[8][9] | |||||||||||||
