Tanggula Mountains Explained

Map Size:	280
Other Name:	Tangla, Tanglha, Dangla Mountains
Country:	China
Subdivision1 Type:	Province/Region
Range Coordinates:	33.5°N 91.07°W
Highest:	Geladaindong Peak

The Tanggula (Chinese: , p Tánggǔlāshān, or Chinese: 唐古拉山脉, p Tánggǔlāshānmài), Tangla, Tanglha, or Dangla Mountains (Tibetan: Tibetan: གདང་ལ་།, w Gdang La, z Dang La) is a mountain range in the central part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in Tibet.^[1] Administratively, the range is in the Nagqu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region, with the central section extending into the Tanggula Town and the eastern section entering the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai province.

Tanggula is the source of the Ulan Moron and Dangqu Rivers, the geographic headwaters of the Yangtze River. It functions as a dividing range between the basin of the Yangtze in the north and the endorheic basin of northeastern Tibet in the south.

Overview

The elevations of the main ridge average over 50000NaN0.The Yangtze River originates in this mountain range; Geladandong, 6621abbr=offNaNabbr=off high, located in Tanggula Town, is the tallest peak in the range.^{[2] [3]}

The Qinghai-Tibet Highway and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway cross the Tanggula Mountains at Tanggula Mountain Pass. This is the highest point of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, and the highest point of any railway in the world, at 5072m (16,640feet) above sea level.^[4] On account of snow and occasional road accidents, highway closures and concomitant traffic delays are not uncommon.^[5]

The mountains lie within the Tibetan Plateau alpine shrub and meadows ecoregion.^[6]

See also

• Geladandong
• Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains
• Tanggula Pass
• Tanggula railway station
• Tanggula North railway station
• Tanggula South railway station
• Tibetan Plateau

Further reading

• Duan . Hong-yu . Yao . Xiao-jun . Liu . Shi-yin . Gao . Yong-peng . Qi . Miao-miao . Liu . Juan . Zhang . Da-hong . Li . Xiao-feng . 2019-11-01 . Glacier change in the Tanggula Mountains, Tibetan Plateau, in 1969–2015 . Journal of Mountain Science . en . 16 . 11 . 2663–2678 . 10.1007/s11629-018-5011-5 . 201716065 .
• Book: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9553890 . 2021 . 10.1109/IGARSS47720.2021.9553890 . 238751460 . en-US . Wang . Jing . Wang . Chao . Tang . Yixian . Zhang . Hong . Duan . Wei . Dong . Longkai . 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS . Investigation for the Surface Deformation of Tanggula Mountain Permafrost Using Distributed Scatterer INSAR . 5358–5361 . 978-1-6654-0369-6 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tanggula Mountains. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007-07-03.
2. Web site: Desperate Times at the Headwaters of the Yangtze. 2007-07-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20071009153623/http://www.hkctp.com.hk/eng/magazine/281/Nature.asp . 2007-10-09.
3. Yongjian . Ding . Zhongqin . Li . Shiyin . Liu . Xinzhi . Yu . January 20, 2017 . Glacioclimatological features in the Tanggula mountains, China . Annals of Glaciology . en . 16 . 1–6 . 10.3189/1992AoG16-1-1-6 . 129888580 . 0260-3055. free .
4. Web site: New height of world's railway born in Tibet. https://web.archive.org/web/20050913000430/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-08/24/content_3397297.htm. dead. September 13, 2005. China View. 2007-07-03.
5. http://english.people.com.cn/200405/04/eng20040504_142343.html Plateau traffic jam
6. Olson, D. M, E. Dinerstein . Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth . . 2001 . 51 . 11 . 933–938 . 10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0933:TEOTWA]2.0.CO;2 . etal . free .