Qarhan Playa

Coordinates: 37°01′27″N 95°08′20″E / 37.024081°N 95.1389253°E / 37.024081; 95.1389253
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Qarhan Playa
Primary inflows
Golmud River
Basin countriesChina
Max. length160 km (100 mi)
Max. width20–40 km (12–25 mi)
Surface area5,856 km2 (2,261 sq mi)
Surface elevation2,677 m (8,780 ft)
Qarhan Playa
Hanyu Pinyin
Cháhǎn
Wade–GilesCha-han
Sanhu
Hanyu Pinyin
Sānhú
Wade–GilesSan Hu
Qarhan National Mining Park
Hanyu Pinyin
Gé'ěrmù Chá'ěrhán Yánhú Guójiā Kuàngshān Gōngyuán
Wade–GilesKo-erh-mu Ch‘a-erh-han Yen-hu Kuo-chia K‘uang-shan Kung-yüan

The Qarhan Playa or Salt Plain, also misleadingly described as Qarhan Lake, is a

Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai, China. Formerly a single unitary lake, it is now an expansive salt flat divided into four greater sections (Dabusun, Big/Small Bieletan, Suli, and N./S. Huoluxun) which contain a number of smaller salt lakes
, the largest of which is Dabusun Lake. The area is heavily exploited for its valuable salt, mineral, and rare earth reserves but parts are also protected as a national park and contribute to regional tourism.

Name

Qarhan is the

playas, also causes the playa to be called a "lake"[3] or even "the largest salt lake in China"[4]
in less careful English sources.

Geography

The Qarhan Playa covers an area of 5,856 km2 (2,261 sq mi),

relative humidity is 27.7%.[10]

In the playa's hyperarid climate, there is generally only 28–40 mm (1–2 in) of annual rainfall but 3,000–3,564 mm (118.1–140.3 in) of annual evaporation.

ephemeral lakes.[16] Most of the streams contributing to these lakes flow north into the playa from the Kunlun and its foothills. The Golmud River is the main contributor, providing a mean annual influx of 19.2 trillion L (5.07 trillion gal) of water.[10] There is also contribution of about 1% from mineral springs,[5] especially on the north end of the playa,[16]
which play an important role in the chemical composition of the sediment.

The local

shrubs, especially members of Ephedra and Tamarix.[5]

Geology

Most of the Qarhan Playa is solid

pH values are between 5.4 and 7.85.[5]

Other minerals include

ppm.[22]

History

Further information: Qaidam Basin § History

Paleoclimatologists believe that the playa's basin was created by tectonic activity during the Mesozoic.[5] Between 770,000 and 30,000 years ago the basin constituted an enormous lake, which alternated nine times between being a fresh- and saltwater lake.[23] Pollen studies suggest that the area of the lake bed which now underlies Dabusun was raised around 700 m (2,300 ft) in just the last 500,000 years.[24] Tectonic activity also shifted the lake's tributaries and basins, although it remained with the present-day playa during this period.[25] At around 30,000 years ago, this great freshwater lake spread over at least 25,000 km2 (9,700 sq mi) with a surface 50–60 m (160–200 ft) above the present levels of its successors,[26] making it one of the largest lakes in the world. It was cut off and became saline again around 30,000 years ago and began precipitating salts about 25,000 years ago.[26] It has been shrinking in size by evaporation for most of that time,[27] eventually separating into the current separate lakes.

Until the recent commercial exploitation of the salts and other minerals, the district remained largely unpopulated, as the salt deposits made it difficult for the nomads of northwestern China to use the area for their herds.[27]

National geological expeditions began investigating Qinghai in the 1950s, shortly after the establishment of the

Tanggu to just under 240,000 t (260,000 short tons) a year.[11] As of 2010, production was over 1 million metric tons (1.1 million short tons) a year at the main site, with smaller operations around the playa each producing a further 50,000–200,000 t (55,000–220,000 short tons) a year.[18]

During a 2016 inspection tour,

electric cars, automobile companies like BYD have since moved to the area, opened factories, and signed contracts with local mining companies to exploit the area's lithium supplies. Infrastructure has been improved, including an overhaul of Golmud Airport.[19]

Tourism

The fertilizer factory is now open to the public for free tours, and its parent company maintains a nearby museum covering the geology of the playa and hosting various salt sculptures.[4] The area was designated a national mining park on 1 August 2008.

Transportation

Sections of the

Qingzang Railway
run over the playa's salt flats.

See also

  • salt lakes in China

Notes

  1. ^ Yang & al.[8] and others mistakenly replace Suli with the better-known two Hulsan lakes. Xiao & al.[9] and others mistakenly replace Dabusun with West Taijinar.

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Xiyu Tongwen Zhi (1763), Vol. XIV.
  2. ^ Zhang & al. (1990), p. 3.
  3. ^ a b c Huang & al. (1997), p. 271.
  4. ^ a b TCG (2019).
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Yu & al. (2001), p. 62.
  6. ^ CNPC, p. 3.
  7. ^ Mao & al. (2017), p. 42.
  8. ^ a b Yang & al. (2012), p. 33.
  9. ^ Xiao & al. (2017), p. 86.
  10. ^ a b c Du & al. (2018), p. 3.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Garrett (1996), p. 176–177.
  12. ^ Du & al. (2018), pp. 2–3.
  13. ^ Spencer & al. (1990), p. 396.
  14. ^ a b c Spencer & al. (1990), p. 397.
  15. ^ a b Du & al. (2018), p. 2.
  16. ^ a b c Lowenstein & al. (1994), p. 20.
  17. ^ a b CNPC, p. 8.
  18. ^ a b c Shan (2010).
  19. ^ a b c Nakamura (2017).
  20. ^ Spencer & al. (1990), p. 406.
  21. ^ a b Yu & al. (2013), pp. 171–172.
  22. ^ a b Lafitte (2011).
  23. ^ Huang & al. (1997), p. 277.
  24. ^ Jiang & al. (2000), pp. 96 & 106.
  25. ^ Kong & al. (2018), §2.
  26. ^ a b Zheng (1997), p. 149.
  27. ^ a b Ward (1878), p. 250.
  28. ^ a b Zheng (1997), p. 3–5.
  29. ^ MEE (2016).

Bibliography

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