Qinghai Lake
The Qinghai Lake was known in the past as West Sea, Immortal Sea, Fresh Water Sea and Xianbei Qiang Sea. In Mongolian it is called Koro Nor, and in Tibetan Coiwenbo. During the Northern Wei period (386-534), the lake got the name Qinghai, but the present name Qinghai Lake was not used until the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It is after this lake that the province is named.
Qinghai Lake, situated at 3,194 meters above sea level, is the biggest salt water lake in China; according to the most recent survey, it covers 4,473 square kilometers with a water volume of 85 billion cubic meters. The lake, 360 kilometers in circumference, lies in the northeast of the Sanjiangyuan region, between Mt. Hurhambudai and Mt. Qilian. There were once 108 rivers feeding this landlocked lake, but now only 40 still empty into it, including the Buh, Heima, Ikuran, Jiquan, Daotang, Ganzi and Hairag. The Buh, the longest of the lake tributaries, drains an area of 14,384 square kilometers, representing 48.5 percent of its total 29,661-square-kilometer drainage area. In the surrounding vicinity there are over 20 minor lakes each covering at least 0.3 square kilometers. The lake borders on Gonghe County, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Tianjun County, Haixi Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture to the south and Gangcha an Haiyan counties as well as Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The agglomeration of water bodies gives the lae area a wet climate, where herbage thrives. Ten ethnic groups are represented in the area’s 80,000-strong population, among them Tibetan, Han, Mongol, Hui, Tu and Sala.
