Bome County – Climate, Glaciers, Rivers and Lakes

Bome County is located at the southeast part of Tibet. It covers an area of 16578 square kilometers and is about 636 kilometers away from Lhasa. Bome has been an ideal trekking destination in Tibet among tourists interested in adventure and exploration for its challenging mountain areas.

Bome County acts as one of the most important commodity grain bases in Tibet. Wheat, highland barley and rape are the main crops raised in Bome Area. The highest tea garden which covers an area of 133 hectors is located in Bome County. The tea products here enjoy high reputation. Bome County is also a major production origin of edible fungus, including the tricholoma matsutake and toadstool.

Climate of Bome

Bome County is greatly influenced by the Indian Ocean marine southwest monsoon climate. The warm and humid airflow enters into Palung Zangbo River along Yarlung Zangbo River. Hence, the area with an altitude lower than 2700 meters enjoys a subtropical climate, the area with an altitude of 2700-4000 meters enjoys a plateau warm and sub-humid climate while the area with an altitude of higher than 4200 meters enjoys a plateau cold-damp climate. The annual sunshine duration in Bome County is about 1563 hours and the frost-free duration is 176 days.

The highest mountain in Bome enjoys an altitude of 6118 meters while the county seat has an altitude of 2700 meters. Bome enjoys a temperate and humid climate, the annual average temperature is 8.5 ?. The average temperature in January is -0.2? while the annual precipitation is about 900 millimeters.

River, Lakes and Glaciers in Bome County

Bome County is located at the eastern part of Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains and Himalayas. The Palung Zangbo River and Yigong Zangbo River flow among the mountains in Bome County. Numerous tributaries cover a total drainage area of 4549.6 square kilometers. There are more than 80 moraine lakes in Bome County, among which Yigong Lake ranks first among the 50 fresh water lakes in eastern Tibet.

Bome County is also quite noted for its ocean glaciers, among which the Katchen Glacier, Drepu Glacier, Rogor Glacier, Gushang Glacier are the most famous ones. Katchen Glacier stretches 35 kilometers and covers an area of 172 square kilometers. Its glacier tongue stretches into the forest with an altitude of 2500 meters looks pretty magnificent.