Hinterland of Qiangtang Plateau

Abstract

Qiangtang, which means ‘Bare land in north’ in Tibetan language, is situated in the north of Tibet, and also called as North Tibetan Plateau. From 82.5°E to 90.7°E and from 31°N to 36°N, this land extends 750–800 km along E-W direction and crosses 450 km along S-N direction. It covers an area of over 400,000 km2 that is from the Kandese-Nyqintanggula Mountains in north to the Kunlun Mountains in south and from Mt. Aludadang of the Karakorum Mountains in west to the Mt. Gar Kangri of Tanggula Mountains in east. Situated in hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau, Qiangtang is characterized with high altitude and extremely adverse climatic environment. Except for fewer herding activities, there is no permanent resident in this area. Scientific survey in this area is very weak in researches of the total Tibetan Plateau due to difficult traffic conditions for entering this area. Under this kind of background, this area is well conserved as its original situations and less disturbed by human activities (Figure 16-1).