Jingpo Lake or Lake Jingpo (; ''

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

'': Jìng Pō Hú) is a

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 ...

located in the upper reaches of the

Mudan River The Mudan River (; IPA: ; ) is a river in Heilongjiang province in China. It is a right tributary of the Sunggari River. Its modern Chinese name can be translated as the "Peony River". In the past it was also known as the Hurka or Hurha River ...

among the Wanda Mountains in

Ningan County Ning'an () is a city located approximately southwest of Mudanjiang, in the southeast of Heilongjiang province, China, bordering Jilin province to the south. It is located on the Mudanjiang River (formerly known as Hurka River), which flows north, ...

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () Postal romanization, formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a Provinces of China, province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is th ...

Province, in the

People's Republic of 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 ...

. Earlier names for the lake include ( zh, labels=no, 湄沱湖), ( zh, labels=no, 忽汗海), and (Manchurian: ; zh, 畢爾騰湖). The length of the lake from north to south is and the widest distance between east and west is only . The area is and the storage capacity is 1.63 billion m³. The south part of lake is shallow with the deepest place in the northern part at . The winter average temperature in Heilongjiang Province is below -20°C (-4°F), but the temperature at the bottom of the water is always above 10°C (50°F). On

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

, the largest moon of the planet

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

, there is a large surface body of liquid

hydrocarbons In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...

, Jingpo Lacus, named after Jingpo Lake.

Formation

The lake was created about 10,000 years ago when the lava of

volcanic eruptions Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...

in the region blocked the flow of the

. Jingpo Lake has experienced five volcanic eruptions. It is the largest alpine lava barrier lake in China.

Natural resources

The northern side of the river cascades down the Diaoshuilou Falls, a waterfall formed by the lake. This lake is famous for its craggy

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

cliffs (similar to those of

Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...

) and its turquoise-colored waters containing 40 types of fish and fresh water

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and se ...

. In the southern side of the lake, there are

river deltas A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rare ...

formed in the estuary of Mudan River and its tributaries. This topography supports a large number of

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a cruc ...

to survive, so it is suitable for the growth of fish. There are various kinds of freshwater fish in Jingpo Lake. The most famous one is Red-tailed fish, also known as

White Cloud Mountain minnow The White Cloud Mountain minnow (''Tanichthys albonubes'') is a hardy species of freshwater fish and coldwater fish often kept in an aquarium. The species is a member of the carp family (family Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes, native to C ...

''(Tanichthys albonubes)''. The

lava stone Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic ...

also provides a good environment for rice to grow due to its ability to absorb heat.

Cultural landscapes

Jingpo Lake is on the first list of National Park of China. It was approved as a National Geopark of China In August 2005. On September 18, 2006, Jingpo Lake was designated as one of the Global Geoparks by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

Gallery

File:吊水樓瀑布 Diaoshuilou Waterfall - panoramio (1).jpg, Diaoshuilou Waterfall in the summer (13 June 2010) File:Jingpo Lake Winter.jpg, Diaoshuilou Waterfall at Jingpo Lake during winter File:Jingpohu Lake, Jingpohu Global Geopark, Heilongjiang, China (10 September 2014).jpg, Jingpohu Lake, Jingpohu Global Geopark, Heilongjiang, China (10 September 2014) File:Sunset of Jingpo Lake in Heilongjiang Province, China.jpg, Sunset on Jingpo Lake

References

External links