General Geography of Tibet – Rivers and Mountains in Tibet

Tibet Autonomous Region is located at the southwest border of China. It covers an area of 1.22 million square kilometers. Tibet borders on Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region and Qinghai Province in the north, and connects Sichuan Province in the east, and connects Yunnan Province in the southeast. Besides, Tibet also borders on India, Nepal, Burma and Bhutan in the south. The boundary line stretches 4000 kilometers in Tibet. Tibet is composed of 6 prefectures (Shannan Prefecture, Nyingchi Prefecture, Nagri Prefecture, Shigatse Prefecture, Nagqu Prefecture and Qamdo Prefecture) and 2 cities (Lhasa and Shigatse) and 73 counties. Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet, and also the largest city in Tibet while Shigatse is the second largest city.

General Geography of Tibet – Mountains in Tibet

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the highest plateau, and also the largest plateau above the sea level. Tibet Plateau is the main part of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with an average altitude of higher than 4000 meters. There are only 14 peaks with an elevation of higher than 8000 meters, among which 10 peaks of them are located on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Hence, Tibet Plateau is also noted as the "Roof of the World" or the "Third Pole". The geologists hold that Tibet Plateau was originally a sea and was finally formed after a series of crustal movement.

Tibet is of complicated topography and it could be mainly divided into three different natural zones. The western Tibet is the plateau zone, located among the Kunlun Mountains, Gangdise Mountains and Nyainqentangla Mountains. It covers 2 thirds of the total area of Tibet Autonomous Region. The southern Tibet is the valley zone, located between Gangdise Mountains and Himalaya Mountains. The eastern Tibet is the high-mountain and deep-canyon zone, where there are numerous high mountains.

The Himalaya Mountain range located at the south of Tibet is the youngest and highest mountain range above the sea level. It is composed of a series of mountain ranges lean from the east to the west. The main part of the Himalaya Mountain is located on the Sino-Nepal border and Sino-India border. It stretches 2400 kilometers with a width of 200-300 kilometers. The average altitude here is more than 6000 meters. There are 4 mountains with an altitude of higher than 8000 meters and 38 mountains with an altitude around 7000-8000 meters in thus region.

General Geography of Tibet – Rivers in Tibet

In Tibet, there are more than 20 rivers with a drainage area of more than 10000 square kilometers and there are more than 100 rivers with a drainage area of more than 2000 square kilometers, among which the Jinsha River, Salween River, Lantsang River and Yarlung Zangbo River are the most famous ones. The noted Ganges River, Indus River, Brahmaputra River, Mekong River and Irrawaddy River are originated in Tibet. The rainfall, melt water of the ice and snow, and the underground water are the main sources of the rivers in Tibet.