Tso Tang
Alkaline lake in Aksai Chin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tso Tang (Historically Tso Thang;[3] Tibetan: མཚོ་ཐང; lit. 'Lake of the Plain'[3]) is an alkaline lake located in the disputed territory of Aksai Chin in Hotan Prefecture of Xinjiang province of China.
LocationAksai Chin, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang
Coordinates34°53′42.96″N 79°21′29.94″E
Surface area38 km2 (15 sq mi)
Surface elevation4,800 m (15,700 ft)
| Tso Tang | |
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| མཚོ་ཐང (Standard Tibetan) | |
Sentinel-2 image (2022) | |
  Tso Tang | |
| Location | Aksai Chin, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang |
| Coordinates | 34°53′42.96″N 79°21′29.94″E |
| Surface area | 38 km2 (15 sq mi) |
| Surface elevation | 4,800 m (15,700 ft) |
| Frozen | Winter |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Tso Tang | |
| Tso Tang | |||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 到腾格湖[1] | ||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 列腾格湖[2] | ||||||
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| Second alternative Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 倒腾格湖 | ||||||
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| Tibetan name | |||||||
| Tibetan | མཚོ་ཐང | ||||||
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History
In the late 1800s, in order to facilitate trade between the Indian subcontinent and the Tarim Basin, the British attempted to promote a caravan route via the Chang Chenmo Valley as an alternative to the difficult and tariffed Karakoram Pass.[4] Tso Tang was on this route. British Army surgeon Henry Cayley who was part of a mission to Yarkand that took this route noted the lake as "brackish but quite potable."[3]
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