Wushao Mountain
Mountain in Gansu, China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wushao Mountain, Wushao Ling Mountain or Wushaoling (simplified Chinese: 乌鞘岭; traditional Chinese: 烏鞘嶺; pinyin: Wūshāolǐng) is a landform in Gansu Province, China, with significant desert elements on its northern slope.
| Wushao Mountain | |
|---|---|
| Wushaoling | |
  Wushao Mountain Location within Gansu  Wushao Mountain Location within Qinghai  Wushao Mountain Location within China | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,562 m (11,686 ft) |
| Coordinates | 37°11′00″N 102°53′02″E |
| Naming | |
| Native name | 乌鞘岭 (Chinese) |
| Geography | |
Country | China |
Province | Gansu |
The mountain has been a barrier to transportation since ancient times, when the Northern Silk Road found a passage across its terrain.[1] The western slope of Wushao Ling combined with adjoining slopes of Lanshan Mountain comprises over 30 percent of the desert area of China. Given the current[needs update] trend in China's land use policies, desertification of the Wushao Ling slopes and other Chinese deserts is projected to expand.[2]
The mountain range is crossed by:
- China National Highway 312, through the Wushaoling Pass (3030 m)
- G30 Lianyungang–Khorgas Expressway, through a tunnel
- Lanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed railway, through the Wushaoling Tunnel (21.05 km)
Climate
Mount Wushao has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dwc). The average annual temperature in Mount Wushao is 0.3 °C (32.5 °F). The average annual rainfall is 407.3 mm (16.04 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 11.8 °C (53.2 °F), and lowest in January, at around −11.3 °C (11.7 °F).
| Climate data for Mount Wushao (1981−2010 normals, extremes 1981−2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 9.9 (49.8) |
13.9 (57.0) |
18.7 (65.7) |
22.0 (71.6) |
22.1 (71.8) |
23.2 (73.8) |
28.1 (82.6) |
24.6 (76.3) |
22.3 (72.1) |
19.0 (66.2) |
13.1 (55.6) |
9.9 (49.8) |
28.1 (82.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −4.9 (23.2) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
0.5 (32.9) |
6.3 (43.3) |
11.0 (51.8) |
14.6 (58.3) |
16.7 (62.1) |
15.8 (60.4) |
11.6 (52.9) |
6.2 (43.2) |
1.1 (34.0) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
6.1 (42.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −11.3 (11.7) |
−9.7 (14.5) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
0.4 (32.7) |
5.5 (41.9) |
9.6 (49.3) |
11.8 (53.2) |
10.6 (51.1) |
6.4 (43.5) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
0.3 (32.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −16.1 (3.0) |
−14.4 (6.1) |
−9.8 (14.4) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
0.9 (33.6) |
5.1 (41.2) |
7.5 (45.5) |
6.5 (43.7) |
2.7 (36.9) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
−9.6 (14.7) |
−14.3 (6.3) |
−4.1 (24.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −28.1 (−18.6) |
−25.5 (−13.9) |
−25.1 (−13.2) |
−16.4 (2.5) |
−13.7 (7.3) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
−6.8 (19.8) |
−19.4 (−2.9) |
−23.8 (−10.8) |
−30.7 (−23.3) |
−30.7 (−23.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 2.6 (0.10) |
4.8 (0.19) |
12.2 (0.48) |
18.1 (0.71) |
42.0 (1.65) |
64.1 (2.52) |
85.9 (3.38) |
89.0 (3.50) |
61.2 (2.41) |
21.9 (0.86) |
3.8 (0.15) |
1.7 (0.07) |
407.3 (16.02) |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 48 | 53 | 57 | 54 | 57 | 61 | 68 | 71 | 71 | 65 | 50 | 45 | 58 |
| Source: China Meteorological Data Service Center[3] | |||||||||||||
