Namtso or Lake Nam (officially: Namco; mn, Tenger nuur; ; ; “Heavenly Lake” in European literature: Tengri Nor, ) is a mountain lake on the border between

Damxung County Damxung is a county of Lhasa City, lying to the north of its main center of Chengguan, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its administrative seat is Damquka. The terrain is rugged, including the western Nyenchen ...

of Lhasa prefecture-level city and Baingoin County of

Nagqu Prefecture Nagqu (also Naqu, Nakchu, or Nagchu; ; ) is a prefecture-level city in the north of the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet. On May 7, 2018, the former Nagqu Prefecture was officially declared the sixth prefecture-level city in Tibet after Lhasa, ...

in the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, approximately NNW of

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhasa ...

Geography

Namtso (Namco) is a lake that first formed during the

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...

age, as a result of Himalayan tectonic plate movements. The lake lies at an elevation of , and has a surface area of . This

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre) ...

is the largest

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the

. However, it is not the largest lake on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. That title belongs to Qinghai Lake (more than twice the size of Namtso); which lies more than to the north-east in

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

. Namtso has five uninhabited islands of reasonable size, in addition to one or two rocky outcrops. The islands have been used for spiritual retreat by pilgrims who walk over the lake's frozen surface at the end of winter, carrying their food with them. They spend the summer there, unable to return to shore again until the water freezes the following winter. This practice is no longer permitted by Chinese authorities. The largest of the islands is in the northwest corner of the lake, and is about long and wide, rising to just over in the middle. At its closest point it is about from the shore.

Climate

The weather at Namtso is subject to abrupt, sudden change and snowstorms are very common across the Nyainqêntanglha range. Namtso has a

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...

(Koppen ET).

Other Features

Namtso is renowned as one of the most beautiful places in the Nyainqêntanglha mountain range. Its cave

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...

ages have for centuries been the destination of Tibetan

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

s. A surfaced road across Laken Pass at 5186 m was completed to the lake in 2005, enabling easy access from

and the development of tourism at the lake. Settlements in the area include

Dobjoi Dobjoi or Doqoi is a village and township in the Tibet Autonomous Region, in China. Populated places in Shigatse Township-level divisions of Tibet {{Tibet-geo-stub ...

Donggar Donggar (; ) is a subdistrict in Doilungdêqên District in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, northwest of Lhasa. It lies at an altitude of 3,828 metres (12,562 feet). The subdistrict has a population of about 4,000 people with 9,359 peo ...

and

Cha'gyungoinba This is an alphabetical list of all populated places, including cities, towns and villages, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of western China. A *Alamdo *Alhar *Arza *Asog B * Baga *Bagar * Baidi *Baima *Baimai *Baixoi * Bamda *Banag *Ba ...

. The

Tashi Dor Tashi Dor () is a peninsula protruding into Namtso Lake Namtso or Lake Nam (officially: Namco; mn, Tenger nuur; ; ; “Heavenly Lake” in European literature: Tengri Nor, ) is a mountain lake on the border between Damxung County of Lhasa p ...

monastery is located at the southeastern corner of the lake. Around the area's natural elements, historical and anthropological background, a 2010 romantic drama zh, 香格里拉

Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Asia's Kunlun Mountains (昆仑山), Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by English author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, g ...

, starring China's popular actor

Hu Ge Hu Ge (, born 20 September 1982), also known as Hugh Hu, is a Chinese actor and singer. While studying at the Shanghai Theater Academy, he was invited to play the leading role Li Xiaoyao in the 2005 television series '' Chinese Paladin'', an ...

, was broadcast at CCTV1 and received positive reviews. Some scenes in the 2002 Hong Kong film The Touch were filmed at the lake. Namtso Lake was featured in Episode 4, ''The Roof of the World'', of BBC TV series: ''

Himalaya with Michael Palin ''Himalaya with Michael Palin'' is a 2004 BBC television series presented by comedian and travel presenter Michael Palin. It records his six-month trip around the Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, ...

''.

Gallery

Asteroid

Asteroid 248388 Namtso, discovered by Italian astronomer Vincenzo Casulli in 2005, was named after the lake. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function T ...

on 5 October 2017 ().

References

External links

{{Lakes of China Lakes of Tibet Buddhist pilgrimage sites in China Geography of Lhasa Saline lakes of Asia Damxung County