China is one of the largest states in the world. On its vast territory there are high mountains, forests, plains overgrown with meadows and almost lifeless arid spaces. We’ll talk about the latter. Let's find out which deserts in China are the most famous. Where are they and what is interesting?
Geography of china
The People's Republic of China is located in the eastern part of the continent of Eurasia. It is adjacent to fifteen countries and covers an area of 9.6 km 2 . Only Russia and Canada are superior in size to the country.
Most of China is covered by mountains, plateaus and highlands. They account for almost 67% of the country. Snow-covered ridges of the Himalayas, the highest mountains of the planet, stretch along the southwestern border. Here, surrounded by lower peaks, there are many "eight-thousanders", including Mount Everest.
The nature of China is very diverse and even contrast. Within its limits, you can see coniferous taiga forests, arid steppes with savannahs, and humid tropical thickets. In the east and north, near the sea coasts, there are fertile plains and river valleys. These regions are the richest in vegetation and most populated.
Moving west, the climate gradually becomes dry, turning vast spaces into deserts. In China there are more than ten. The most famous are:
- Gobi
- Dzosotin-Elisun;
- Takla Makan;
- Lop;
- Hami
- Alashan;
- Tanger;
- Ordos.
Gobi
Gobi is a vast desert in China and Mongolia, the largest in Asia. From the Tien Shan ranges to the North China Plateau, it extends for 1,600 kilometers. In the south, it is limited by the Nanshan mountains and the Yellow River valley, and in the north it flows smoothly into the Mongolian steppes. In view of the vast area, the Gobi is heterogeneous and consists of several small deserts. In China, it includes Alashan, Dzungaria and Gashun Gobi. In Mongolia, it is divided into 33 small areas.
Only 3% of the Gobi covers sand dunes, which are usually associated with deserts. The remaining territories are occupied by clay and rocky placers. In summer, the Gobi is unbearably hot, in winter it is cold and piercing winds blow. In the warm season, sandstorms form over the desert, carrying dust streams to eastern China, Korea, Japan, and even to the United States. Every year the Gobi grows and becomes a real environmental problem in the region. In order to somehow stop its growth, China plans to plant vegetation along its borders. The project has already been called the Green Wall of China, by analogy with the famous ancient structure.
Takla Makan
Takla Makan is located in the west of the country. Its name translates as “abandoned place”, which fully corresponds to the nature of the desert. There are no permanent settlements, very few vegetation and animals. The desert surface is composed of sand dunes and salt marshes, compacted ridges and pyramids, also woven from sand. On the outskirts are river valleys formed by streams flowing from neighboring mountains. They do not penetrate far, as the scorching sun dries them before. Thorny shrubs, poplar turanga, saxaul grow in the valleys.
At a depth of several meters, underground waters lie, which are difficult to reach for plants. Where they come closest, there are oases with thickets of tamarisk, reed and various shrubs.
Takla Makan is one of China's most mysterious deserts, known as the site of the “Singing Dead”. She gained such fame thanks to the finds of ancient mummies dating from the XVIII-II centuries BC. Dry air and salty soils have preserved the dead so much that even their clothes have not lost their brightness.
Lop
Lop is another desert located in China. It lies near the eastern outskirts of Takla Makan and is characterized by an almost flat surface. Within the desert there are only a few depressions, one of which is the dried salt lake Lobnor. In the last century, it spread over 3000 km 2 , giving life to reeds, willows, poplars and other plants. Due to human economic activity, it began to decrease and once completely disappeared.
The climate of the Lop desert is extremely arid and hot. In summer, the temperature reaches 50 degrees, and precipitation for the whole year falls less than 20 mm. As in the Gobi, destructive sandstorms form here, leading to soil erosion, rock destruction, not to mention the damage to people's lives. Layers of sand are carried by winds to neighboring rivers, and they apply dunes in the Takla Makan desert.
Dzosotin-Elisun
Dzosotin-Elisun covers an area of 50,000 km 2 . After Takla Makan, this is the second desert of China, located exclusively within the country. It is located in the very center of Dzungaria, surrounded by the Altai and Tien Shan mountains. On its territory is one of the four points 45 × 90, known for the fact that they are equidistant from the Greenwich meridian, equator and pole.
The desert surface is composed of sand dunes, takyrs and plains of sand and pebbles. Ridges of dunes grow 30-100 meters in height, their western gentle slopes are covered with rare thickets of saxaul and wormwood.
Ordos
Ordos is the alleged homeland of the Turks, the distant ancestors of many peoples of Asia. This desert of China is located closer to the north-east of the country. On three sides it is bordered by the winding Yellow River, in the south it gradually merges with the Loess Plateau and is adjacent to the Great Wall of China.
The climate of Ordos is dry and hot, but due to its location, it is much milder than in the more western deserts. Thunderstorms occur here from time to time, and annual precipitation can range from 100 to 400 mm. The entire desert is represented by sand dunes and salt lakes, where birds often stop. One of the most valuable inhabitants is the relic gull.