Geographic Environment of Yarlung Zangbo River

Geographic Environment of Yarlung Zangbo River – Source

The youngest and highest mountains above the sea level – Himalayas stands at the south of Yarlung Zangbo River while the Gangdise Mountains and Nyainqentanglha Mountains are located at the north of Yarlung Zangbo River. Yarlung Zangbo River flows through the Southern Tibet Valley, which is situated between the south and north. The drainage areas of Yarlung Zangbo River is characterized by long and narrow between the east and the west while short and narrow between the south to the north.

Yarlung Zangbo River originates from the Gyema-Yangzong Glacier at the northern foot of Himalaya with an elevation of 5590 meters. The source area of Yarlung Zangbo River is composed of Gyema-Yangzong River and Kubi Zangbo River. A series of glaciers at the origin of the two rivers formed a giant solid reservoir.

Geographic Environment of Yarlung Zangbo River – Upper Reaches

The section between the tail of Gyema-Yangzong Glacier and Litse is regarded as the upper reaches of Yarlung Zangbo River, which covers a drainage area of 265700 square meters with a length of 268 kilometers. Maquan River, the main tributary of Yarlung Zangbo River belongs to the upper-reaches section has an altitude of more than 5200 meters. The water in the river flows gently, a lot of branches and small lakes were formed. Various aquatic birds inhabit in the marshlands by both banks of the river. Maquan River flows though the valley (with a common width of 10-30 kilometers) between Himalayas and Gangdise Mountains.

The Maquan River Basin is mainly a pasturing land with excellent swamp meadow and there are few inhabitants around the place except for some wild animals. Tourists making a Tibet tour here will have the chance to witness the precious Tibetan antelope and blue sheep or some common wild animals, such as the yak, fox and rabbit.

Geographic Environment of Yarlung Zangbo River – Middle Reaches

The section between Litse and Paixiang is regarded as the middle reaches of Yarlung Zangbo River. This section stretches 1293 kilometers and covers a water-collection area of 163951 square kilometers. Numerous branch rivers flow into Yarlung Zangbo River from both banks. The noted Gyiacha Valley, with a length of 42 kilometers and a width of 30-40 meters, is located in this section. The water fall here even reaches more than 300 meters. Zangmu Hydropower Station under construction here attracts a lot of attention.

The main tributaries of Yarlung Zangbo River converged together at the middle reaches. These branch rivers not only provide rich water resource but also formed broad plains, such as the Shigatse Plain, Lhasa River Valley Plain and Niyang River Valley Plain. All these plains enjoy an altitude of less than 4100 meters. A series of grain production bases in Tibet are located in this section of Yarlung Zangbo River.

Geographic Environment of Yarlung Zangbo River – Lower Reaches

The world famous Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is located at the lower reaches of Yarlung Zangbo River. Mt. Gyala Peri and Mt. Namhagbarwa located at the turn of the Grand Canyon enjoys an altitude of 7151 meters and 7756 meters respectively. The vertical elevation difference between the top of Mt. Namhagbarwa and the water surface of Yarlung Zangbo River reaches 7100 meters. Hence, Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is widely accepted as the deepest canyon above the sea level.