Xainza County, also Shantsa, Shentsa, (; zh, c=申扎县) is a county within
Nagqu of the
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...
of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. In 1999 the county had a population of 16,190.
Geography
The capital lies at
Naktsang Town or
Xainza :''not to be confused with Naktsang Town in the Haa District of southwestern Bhutan''
Xainza (also Naktsang,Dorje (2009), p. 397. Xainza Town or Shantsa) is a town and township-level administrative unit and seat of Shentsa County or Xainza County, ...
.
The county covers an area of .
Until recent times the County extended all the way from the borders of
Xinjiang
Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
in the north to the Brahmaputra River in the south, covering a larger area than the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It has since been split into two, Shentsa (Xainza) County and the new
Nyima County to the east.
[Dorje (2009), p. 396.]
"In this region there are 67 lakes, including some of Tibet's largest: Serling, Dangra Yutso, Ngangtse-tso, Kering-tso, Taktse-tse and Uru-tso. In the northeast there are a number of 6,000 m peaks including Purok Gangri and Norla Gangri , not to mention the Kunlun mountains
The Kunlun Mountains constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the broadest sense, the chain forms the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau south of the Tarim Basin. Located in Western China, the Kun ...
on the Xinjiang border further north. The entire northern region forms part of the Jangtang Nature Reserve. Ten large salt fields testify to the importance of this region for the traditional trading commodity of the Jangtang Plateau."
Lakes in close proximity to the main town are
Geren Lake,
Mujiu Lake,
Anzi Lake,
Guomang Lake,
Cuo'e and
Ziguii Lake,
Wuru Lake,
Siling Lake and
Bangecuo. With an area of , Siling Lake is the second largest saltwater lake in the northern
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...
and forms part of the
Siling Co National Nature Reserve (also Selincuo Reserve or Xainza Nature Reserve).
The reserve was established in 1993 and contains significant populations of
black-necked crane
The black-necked crane (''Grus nigricollis'') is a medium-sized crane (bird), crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and remote parts of India and Bhutan. It is long with a wingspan, and it weighs . It is whitish-gray, with a black h ...
s and some 120 species of birds in total.
,
wild donkey,
argali
The argali (''Ovis ammon''), also known as the mountain sheep, is a wild ovis, sheep native to the highlands of western East Asia, the Himalayas, Tibet, and the Altai Mountains.
Description
The name 'argali' is the Mongolian language, Mongolian ...
,
snow leopard
The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...
s,
bar-headed goose, etc., also inhabit the county.
Climate
Xainza has an extreme
subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...
, bordering on
polar. The climate of the county is typical of a plateau climate zone, with thin, cold air and a dry climate, with 279.1 days of frost per year on average.
The average annual wind speed is 3.8 m/s (12.5 ft/s), the average annual temperature is , and the average annual precipitation is .
Geology
The county has been geologically well assessed in publications. Xainza contains an
Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...
to
Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...
stratigraphic
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...
succession and the area is part of the
Xainza-Jiali Fault Zone.
Significant
Triassic
The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
clastic deposits with
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
beds and volcanic clastics have been found between Xainza and
Coqên.
Early Devonian
The Early Devonian is the first of three Epoch (geology), epochs comprising the Devonian period, corresponding to the Lower Devonian Series (stratigraphy), series. It lasted from and began with the Lochkovian Stage , which was followed by the Pr ...
(Pragian-Emsian) rocks in Xainza County are said to "yield a shallow-marine, carbonate-platform fauna of
coral
Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...
s,
brachiopod
Brachiopods (), phylum (biology), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear e ...
s,
dacryoconarids,
nautiloid
Nautiloids are a group of cephalopods (Mollusca) which originated in the Late Cambrian and are represented today by the living ''Nautilus'' and ''Allonautilus''. Fossil nautiloids are diverse and species rich, with over 2,500 recorded species. Th ...
s and
conodont
Conodonts, are an extinct group of marine jawless vertebrates belonging to the class Conodonta (from Ancient Greek κῶνος (''kōnos''), meaning " cone", and ὀδούς (''odoús''), meaning "tooth"). They are primarily known from their hard ...
s."
Lakes
*
Tso Ngön
Economy
Animal husbandry is the chief source of income in the county.
was built in the 1990s and as of 2008 serves about 20,000 nomadic households across the county.
Gold mining in the county has reportedly affected water quality and some area of grassland.
An
alluvial
Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
gold mine which generated "5 million yuan (US$617,300) of the county's 8.5-million budgetary income" was slated to be shut down in 2005.
Other reserves include iron, lead, copper, salt, borax and phosphorus.
The county has a reported geothermal resources area of about 100,000 square meters and is rich in fish resources.
Administrative divisions
The county contains 2
towns
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
and 6
townships.
"The county capital of Shentsa is located at Naktsang (Shentsa), 805 km from Lumaringpo in Gertse county, and 232 km from Palgon. However, due to the vastness of this region, there is a third administrative centre at Tsonyi (Twin Lakes) in the north. Naktsang (Shentsa) to Tsonyi is 442 km."
References
Citations
Sources
* Dorje, Gyurme. (2009) ''Footprint Tibet Handbook''. 4th Edition. Bath, U.K.
External links
Hudong EncyclopediaPhoto of Xainza TownPhoto of Xainza Nature ReservePhoto of Xainza Nature ReservePhoto of Japgang Power Station
{{Nagqu Prefecture
Counties of Tibet
Nagqu