| Chaka Salt Lake | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Chaka Salt Lake | |
| Location | Ulan County, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China |
| Coordinates | 36°41′51″N 99°06′20″E / 36.6976°N 99.1055°E / 36.6976; 99.1055 |
| Type | Salt lake |
| Basin countries | China |
| Max. length | 15.8 km (9.8 mi) |
| Max. width | 9.2 km (5.7 mi) |
| Surface area | 105 km (41 sq mi) |
| Surface elevation | 3,100 m (10,170 ft) |
| Settlements | Chaka, Ulan County |
Chaka Salt Lake (Chinese: 茶卡盐湖; pinyin: Chákǎ Yánhú; Standard Tibetan: ཚྭ་ཁ་མཚོ་) is a salt lake in Ulan County, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai, China. The oval-shaped lake is located near the eastern end of Qaidam Basin, 298 kilometres (185 mi) to the west of the provincial capital Xining. The name "Chaka" (ཚྭ་ཁ) means "salt lake" in Tibetan.
Chaka Lake is a major tourist destination and a key salt mine in Qinghai. In 2018, it received more than 3 million visitors. The lake is famous for its crystal-blue water and reflective lake bed, and is popularly known as "Mirror of the Sky".
Climate
| Climate data for Chaka, Ulan County, elevation 3,088 m (10,131 ft), (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −2.2 (28.0) |
1.7 (35.1) |
6.8 (44.2) |
12.7 (54.9) |
16.6 (61.9) |
19.2 (66.6) |
21.5 (70.7) |
21.3 (70.3) |
17.2 (63.0) |
10.9 (51.6) |
4.1 (39.4) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
10.7 (51.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −10.9 (12.4) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
4.5 (40.1) |
9.2 (48.6) |
12.5 (54.5) |
14.9 (58.8) |
14.3 (57.7) |
9.9 (49.8) |
2.6 (36.7) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−9.8 (14.4) |
2.8 (37.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −18.2 (−0.8) |
−14.7 (5.5) |
−9.2 (15.4) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
2.1 (35.8) |
6.4 (43.5) |
9.0 (48.2) |
8.4 (47.1) |
4.1 (39.4) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−12.1 (10.2) |
−16.9 (1.6) |
−4.0 (24.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 1.2 (0.05) |
1.8 (0.07) |
3.3 (0.13) |
7.5 (0.30) |
26.3 (1.04) |
51.3 (2.02) |
58.8 (2.31) |
48.2 (1.90) |
27.2 (1.07) |
4.9 (0.19) |
1.4 (0.06) |
0.5 (0.02) |
232.4 (9.16) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 8.4 | 12.2 | 13.6 | 11.0 | 7.8 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 67.4 |
| Average snowy days | 2.8 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 21.3 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 36 | 33 | 31 | 33 | 44 | 55 | 59 | 58 | 56 | 43 | 35 | 35 | 43 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 231.2 | 221.4 | 255.2 | 269.9 | 267.5 | 233.5 | 248.5 | 253.2 | 235.7 | 261.3 | 245.1 | 233.5 | 2,956 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 75 | 72 | 68 | 68 | 61 | 53 | 56 | 61 | 64 | 76 | 81 | 78 | 68 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration | |||||||||||||
References
- Liu, Xingqi; Dong, Hailiang; Rech, Jason; Matsumoto, Ryo; Bo, Yang; Wang, Yongbo (2008-04-01). "Evolution of Chaka Salt Lake in NW China in response to climatic change during the Latest Pleistocene–Holocene". Quaternary Science Reviews. 27 (7–8): 867–879. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.12.006. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- "Chaka Salt Lake: Mirror of the sky in China". english.www.gov.cn. China: Government of China. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ "New tourist park to open at China's Chaka Salt Lake". China Daily. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "Chaka Salt Lake: Mirror of the sky in China". China Daily. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- "Visitors exceed 3 million at Chaka Salt Lake". China Tibet Online. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 27 September 2023.