Nyainqentanglha Mountains

Nyainqentanglha Mountains is one of the main mountains on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It traverses the middle and eastern parts of Tibet. It stretches 1400 kilometers and has an average width of 80 kilometers. The main peak Nyainqentanglha Peak is 7111 meters above the sea level. It is the largest glacier zone in southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Nyainqentanglha Mountains divided Tibet into three parts: the Northern Tibet, the Southern Tibet and Southeastern Tibet. It is covered with snow and clouds all year around. There are numerous glaciers here since it is in the maritime monsoon glacier zone.

Nyainqentanglha Mountains is also the water-shed of Yarlung Zangbo River and Nujiang River. There are frequent earthquakes because of the frequent geological structure activity in the north slop of Nyainqentanglha Mountains.

Nyainqentanglha Mountains – Climate

The average temperature is 0?– 8? from the west to the east of Nyainqentanglha Mountains. The average temperature in June is 10?-18? and is -10?-0? in January. The temperature lowers gradually from the west to the east.

Located in the interior of the continent, Nyainqentanglha Mountains obstructs cold current from the northwest and the warm current from Indian Ocean. Nyainqentanglha Mountains enjoys a semiarid continental climate with an annual precipitation of 300-400 millimeters.

The rainy season of Nyainqentanglha Mountains is between Mid-May and Mid-September. The rainfall in this period takes 80-90 percent of the annual precipitation. The climate is sophisticated and changeable during the rainy period. There might be various weather phenomenons in one day, including showery rain, hailstone, thunderstorm, and lighting.

Nyainqentanglha Mountains – Natural Environment

The western part of Nyainqentanglha Mountains is located in the semiarid climate zone. The snow line here rises to 5700 meters. It is an important geographical boundary on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Just as Gangdise Mountains, Nyainqentanglha Mountains is the water-shed of internal flow and external flow, as well as the water-shed of the frigid climatic zone and the warm climatic zone on the plateau.

The Qiangtang Plateau on the north of Nyainqentanglha Mountains is mainly noted for its grasslands landscapes and this area is mainly develops stock raising industry. The Southern Tibet on the south of Nyainqentanglha Mountains mainly develops farming. This area is also praised as the granary of Tibet.

Nyainqentanglha Mountains – Landscapes

Nyainqentanglha Mountains has three main mountain ridges: the west mountain ridge, the east mountain ridge and the south mountain ridge. The development of the glaciers is greatly limited under the influence of the topography. Near the north mountain ridge, there are mainly lateral valley glaciers and hanging glaciers. There are two accumbent glaciers in the southern and northern valleys. The snow line here is relatively higher compare to other areas. It is more than 5800 meters above the sea level.

The beautiful Yangpachen Valley is at the southern foot of the main peak of Nyainqentanglha Mountains. It is located on the geological fault zone between Nyainqentanglha Mountains and Gangdise Mountains. It is rich in geothermal resources and there are numerous hot springs and fountains. It is a rare natural museum of geothermal resources. There is the biggest geothermal power station in China. The hot springs here could help the tourists to eliminate fatigue and cure diseases.