Erhai Lake

Coordinates: 25°45′48″N 100°11′15″E / 25.76333°N 100.18750°E / 25.76333; 100.18750
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Er Lake / Erhai
Dali Prefecture, Yunnan
Coordinates25°45′48″N 100°11′15″E / 25.76333°N 100.18750°E / 25.76333; 100.18750
Basin countriesChina
Max. length40 km (25 mi)
Max. width8 km (5.0 mi)
Surface area250 km2 (97 sq mi)
Average depth11 m (36 ft)
Water volume2.5 km3 (0.60 cu mi)
Surface elevation1,972 m (6,470 ft)

Erhai or Er Lake (

Dali Prefecture, Yunnan province, China
. Erhai was also known as Yeyuze (叶榆泽) or Kunming Lake (昆明池) in ancient times.

Etymology

The character "洱" (er) does not have the same meaning as ear (耳). During the

radical (氵) attached to it. Fang Guoyu believe the name "洱" (er) was simplified from "渳", after that the name "Erhai" continues to this day.[1]
: 45 

According to Bai scholar's research, the "Yeyu" in the Chinese name "Yeyuze" (ze [泽] means lake) is evolved from Bai language which means "lower water", the pronunciation written in IPA as /jɛ33ji33/. In the Bai language Dali dialect, the "lower" (/jɛ33/) is also pronounced /ɛɹ33/. Xu Lin believe the Chinese name "洱" is evolved from /ɛɹ33/.[2]

Geography

A cormorant fisherwoman returning to shore on Erhai Lake

Erhai is situated at 1,972 metres (6,470 ft) above sea level. In size, the North-South length of the lake is 40 kilometres (25 mi) and the East-West width is roughly 7–8 kilometres (4.3–5.0 mi). Its area is 250 square kilometres (97 sq mi), making it the second largest highland lake in China, after

Dianchi Lake[citation needed]. Its circumference
reaches 116 kilometres (72 mi), its average depth is of 11 metres (36 ft) and the total storage capacity of 2.5 billion cubic metres (2,000,000 acre⋅ft).

The lake serves as a backdrop to all of

Mekong River
).

Attractions

The lakeshore can be explored by hiking. Highlights include Erhai Park and the Butterfly Springs on the Western bank. Islands on the lake – including Guanyin Ge, Jinsuo Island (金梭岛; 'Golden Shuttle Island'), Nanzhao Folklore Island (南诏风情岛) and Xiaoputuo Island (小普陀) – are also available for visits.

The lake is an important food source for the local people (Bais), who are famous for their fishing method: their trained cormorants catch fish and return them to fishmongers. The birds are prevented from swallowing their fish by rings fixed around their neck.

Biodiversity

There is, or was, a rich

extinct.[3] A few of the non-endemic natives have also been extirpated from the lake. In contrast, the lake is now home to more than 10 introduced fish species.[3]

A few native

hydrophytes have also disappeared from the lake.[3]

The lake used to be a royal deer ranch for the

Nanzhao
Kingdom.

Panorama of Erhai Lake

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Around Erhai Lake by electric scooter.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erhai Lake.
  1. ISBN 7-5415-1941-3
    .
  2. ^ 徐琳 (1986). "点苍山洱海考释" [Study of "Dian Cangshan" and "Erhai"]. 民族语文 [Minority Languages of China] (in Chinese) (6): 30–33+24.
  3. ^
    doi:10.1007/s10531-013-0579-0
    .
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