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West Dabusun Lake

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Endorheic ephemeral saline lake in Qinghai Province, China
West Dabusun Lake
  • 西达布逊湖 (in Chinese)
  • ᠪᠠᠷᠠᠭᠤᠨ ᠳᠠᠪᠤᠰᠤᠨ ᠨᠠᠭᠤᠷ (in Mongolian)
West Dabusun Lake is located in QinghaiWest Dabusun LakeWest Dabusun Lake
LocationGolmud County
Haixi Prefecture
Qinghai Province
China
Coordinates37°05′00″N 94°47′21″E / 37.08333°N 94.78917°E / 37.08333; 94.78917
TypeEndorheic ephemeral saline lake
Primary inflowsYuejin River (Golmud)
Basin countriesChina
Surface area30 km (12 sq mi)
Surface elevation2,675 m (8,776 ft)
West Dabusun Lake
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese西達布遜
Simplified Chinese西达布逊
Literal meaningWest Dabusun Lake
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXīdábùxùn Hú
Xī Dábùxùn Hú
Wade–GilesHsi-ta-pu-hsün Hu
Hsi Ta-pu-hsün Hu
Mongolian name
Mongolian scriptᠪᠠᠷᠠᠭᠤᠨ ᠳᠠᠪᠤᠰᠤᠨ ᠨᠠᠭᠤᠷ
Transcriptions
SASM/GNCBaraɣun Dabusun Naɣur

West Dabusun or Dabuxun Lake is an ephemeral lake northwest of Golmud in the Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China. Comprising a basin in the Qarhan Playa, it fills when meltwater floods the Golmud River, causing it to spill into subsidiary channels west of the main course to Dabusun Lake. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin, it is extremely saline.

Name

Dabusun or Dabsan is a romanization of a Mongolian name meaning "Salt Lake". The adjective "west" distinguishes it from nearby Dabusun Lake. Dabuxun is the pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of the same name's transcription into characters. Xi Dabsan or Xidabuxun are the same names, prefixed with the Chinese word for "West".

Geography

West Dabusun Lake lies in the Dabusun subbasin in the central Qarhan Playa in the southeastern corner of the Qaidam Basin at an elevation of 2,675 m (8,776 ft). Although sometimes listed as perennial, it is an ephemeral saline lake fed by the "Yuejin River" (t 躍進, s 跃进, Yuèjìn Hé), a subsidiary western channel of the Golmud that periodically fill with meltwater. It usually reaches a size of about 30 km (12 sq mi). In Qaidam's hyperarid climate, there is generally only 28–40 mm (1–2 in) of annual rainfall but about 3,000 mm (120 in) of annual evaporation; the accumulated pool evaporates before the end of the year. It is never more than about 1 m (3 ft 3 in) deep.

The lake's position towards the southern end of the playa means that its waters are relatively less influenced by the concentrated mineral springs along the playa's northern boundary.

History

Further information: Qaidam Basin § History

West Dabusun Lake formed in 1967.

See also

References

Citations

  1. Spencer & al. (1990), p. 406.
  2. ^ Zhang & al. (1990).
  3. Lowenstein & al. (2009), pp. 75–6.
  4. ^ Zheng (1997), p. 15
  5. ^ Jia (2019).
  6. ^ Spencer & al. (1990), p. 396.
  7. ^ Yu & al. (2001), p. 62.
  8. Du & al. (2018), pp. 2–3.
  9. Yu & al. (2009), p. 2.
  10. Spencer & al. (1990), p. 397.
  11. Spencer & al. (1990), pp. 398–399.

Bibliography

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