The lakes of Bhutan comprise its glacial lakes and its natural mountain lakes. Bhutanese territory contains some 2,674 high altitude glacial lakes and subsidiary lakes, out of which 25 pose a risk of GLOFs. There are also more than 59 natural non-glacial lakes in Bhutan, covering about 4250ha. Most are located above an altitude of 3500m (11,500feet), and most have no permanent human settlements nearby, though many are used for grazing yaks and may have scattered temporary settlements.[1] [2]
Only four lakes are below an altitude of 2000m (7,000feet): the temperate Ho Ko Tsho in Punakha District at 1829m (6,001feet); Luchika in Wangdue Phodrang at 1830m (6,000feet); Buli in Zhemgang at 1372m (4,501feet); and the subtropical Gulandi in Samdrup Jongkhar at 366m (1,201feet).[1] [2] [3]
As phenomena of nature, all lakes in Bhutan are believed to be inhabited by spirits.[4] A handful of lakes in Bhutan are particularly sacred, most often connected to lives of Buddhist saints Guru Rimpoche and Pema Lingpa. For example, Membar Tsho ("Burning Lake"), in the Tang Valley near Bumthang, is heavily associated with Guru Rimpoche, who brought Buddhism to Bhutan and discovered his first terma in the lake in 1475.[5]
Most natural lake names are denoted with the word tsho, meaning "lake" (Dzongkha: མཚོ་; Wylie: mtsho).[6] They may be identified as an individuals, pairs, or groups of lakes.
See main article: Glaciers of Bhutan.
Bhutan contains some 2,674 glacial lakes. Some glacial lakes, such as Thorthormi Lake in Lunana Gewog, are not a single bodies of water but collections supraglacial ponds.[7] Most glacial lakes identified as potentially dangerous feed into the Manas River and Puna Tsang (Sankosh) River water systems of north-central Bhutan.[8] During a GLOF, residents of nearby downstream villages may have as little as twenty minutes to evacuate; floodwaters from one 1994 GLOF at Luggye lake took about seven hours to reach Punakha, some 90km (60miles) downstream.[9]
Where glacial movement temporary blocks riverflows, downstream areas may be threatened by glacial lake outburst flood ("GLOFs").[10] [11] Although GLOFs are not a new phenomenon in Bhutan, their frequency has risen in the past three decades.[12] [13] Significant GLOFs occurred in 1957, 1960, 1968 and 1994, devastating lives and property downstream.[14] According to the Bhutan Department of Energy however, the majority of rivers in Bhutan are more susceptible to fluctuation with changing rainfall patterns than to flooding directly attributable to glacier or snow melt.[15]
For public safety, these glaciers and glacial lakes are maintained by the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Department of Geology and Mines, an executive (cabinet) agency of the government of Bhutan.[16] The Department, as part of its environmental "mitigation projects," aims to lower the levels of glacial lakes and thereby avert GLOF-related disaster. One such glacial lake mitigation project, for example, aimed to lower water levels by five meters over three years. The Department uses silent explosives and other means it considers environmentally friendly in order to minimize the ecological impact of its mitigation projects. These projects, however, remain difficult to conduct because of the weather, terrain, and relative lack of oxygen at the glacial lakes' altitudes. As of September 2010, GLOF early warning systems were slated for installation by mid-2011 in Punakha and Wangdue Phodrang Districts at a cost of USD4.2 million.[17] [18]
Naturally occurring mountain lakes, though today fewer than glacial lakes, include several historically and spiritually relevant bodies of water.
| Lake name | District | Gewog | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animo Tsho | Located near Dhur, Animo Tsho sits at an elevation of 4375m (14,354feet) on the road from Bumthang to Lunana. It is a holy lake where speech is forbidden. | ||
| The Buli sits at 1372m (4,501feet). | |||
| Chhiba Tsho | Chhiba Tsho is located below a pass at 4500m (14,800feet). On the other side of the pass lie Dagana Valley and the small, blue Langtsho ("Ox Lake"). | ||
| Chungge Tsho | Chungge Tsho is at an elevation of 4400m (14,400feet), near Lungsipang village. | ||
| Dagebho | east Jomo lake group; its name means "longer than the archery range," and is also called Batsho. | ||
| Daja Tsho | Jomo lake group; Daja Tsho is also called Serbho Tsho ("Golden Lake"). It lies along the Snowman Trek at 4520m (14,830feet) | ||
| Dangling Tsho | Located to the north of Khaling village, the lake is considered very sacred by the local people.[19] | ||
| Djule Tsho | Djule Tsho is located to the northwest of the sacred Animo Tsho at 4190m (13,750feet) near the Gongto La (Gokthong La) and Djule La passes. This pass marks the watershed of the Mangde Chhu (Trongsa Chhu), one of Bhutan's major river systems. | ||
| Dongney Tsho | Dongney Tsho is surrounded by fir trees, located on the trekking path to Drugyel Dzong. | ||
| Dongtsho | east Jomo lake group. | ||
| Dungtsho Tsho | Dungtsho Tsho and Dungtsho Sama, male and female lakes, respectively. | ||
| Gulandi Tsho | The subtropical Gulandi sits at 366m (1,201feet). | ||
| Ho Ko Tsho | The Ho Ko Tsho sits at 1829m (6,001feet). | ||
| Janye Tsho | Janye, or Jane, Tsho rests at 3956m (12,979feet) along the Druk Path Trail between Jimilang Tsho and Simkotra Tsho. It is often occupied by yak herders. | ||
| Jatsho | Jomo lake group; the largest lake of its group, its name ("Vulture Lake"), comes from its shape. | ||
| Jimilang rests at an elevation of 3870m (12,700feet) at the apex of the Druk Path Trail. Its name means "Sand Ox Lake," named after a legendary bull. Also called Bimelang Tsho, this sacred lake is a meditation site. The lake contains many trout, and fishing there is allowed with permit. | |||
| Laname Tsho | Laname Tsho is near Laname La and Bonte La passes. | ||
| Langtsho | Langtsho ("Ox Lake") is a small lake adjacent to the Mangde Chhu watershed. | ||
| Luetshokha Tsho | Luetshokha sits at 1830m (6,000feet). The lake is located on the way to Samtengang village. | ||
| "Burning Lake", in the Tang Valley near Bumthang, is heavily associated with Guru Rimpoche, who brought Buddhism to Bhutan and discovered his first terma in the lake in 1475. | |||
| Ngyetsho | east Jomo lake group. | ||
| Nob Tshona Patta Tsho | Nob Tshona Patta Tsho is a treking destination from Haa to Paro near Lukha village. | ||
| Om Tsho | Om Tsho, also called Omtoe Tsho and Omta Tsho, lies at 4665m (15,305feet). It is a sacred lake, believed to be where Pema Lingpa found terton: cymbals, texts, and other artifacts hidden by Guru Rimpoche. There is a second smaller lake below the waterfall of Om Tsho at 4150m (13,620feet); both are located along the Snowman Trek. | ||
| Rigona Tsho | Rigona is near Nob Tshona Patta Tsho at 4090m (13,420feet). | ||
| Sertsho | east Jomo lake group. | ||
| Sethag Burge Tsho | Also called Sistiha Phugi Tso, this lake lies below the enormous Tsenda Gang range. | ||
| Setsho | Setsho lake is located southwest of Gonju La along the Ramena Trail near Woche | ||
| Simdong Goi Tso | This lake lies between Wochey and the Wagye La pass, the old route to Lhasa. | ||
| Simkotra Tsho | Simkotra Tsho is located to the south of Jimilang Tsho along the Druk Path Trail at 4090m (13,420feet). | ||
| Solang Chhu | Solang Chhu (Thole Tsho) is an alpine lake at 4420m (14,500feet) near Bopsar and Thole La pass. | ||
| Tampoe Tsho | Tampoe Tsho is a small lake near Om Tsho. | ||
| Tshochena Lake | Tshochena is located along the Snowman Trek, at 4970m (16,310feet). | ||
| Tsho Phu | The Tsho Phu are a pair of lakes along the Snowman Trek at 4380m (14,370feet). Although they were stocked with brown trout in the 1960s, fishing there is prohibited. | ||
| Utsho Tsho | Jomo lake group; Utsho is also called Gewa Tsho ("Turquoise Lake"), and is the lowsest of the Jomo lakes. | ||
| Ada Tsho is beautifully located within the warm broadleaved forest near a paddy field. | |||
Glacial lakes in Bhutan far outnumber other kinds of lakes, and pose a particular risk to those living downstream in the event of a GLOF. Many of these lakes have appeared or grown after climate change, and the frequency at which they emit flood waters has increased. in recent history.
Below is a list of the major glacial lakes in Bhutan. Many lakes appear in clusters, and may someday merge; for example, the numerous glacial lakes of Laya and Lunana Gewogs lie mostly within Jigme Dorji National Park along a handful of major glaciers.
| Lake name | District | Gewog | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thorthormi Glacial Lake | Thorthormi Lake appeared on its glacier sometime after 1967. It is the largest lake in Lunana, with a width of 30m (100feet).[20] | ||
| Raphstreng (Rapstreng) Glacial Lake | This lake appeared on its glacier in 1958. It is just over 2km2 and 107m (351feet) deep.[21] | ||
| Luggye (Lugge) Glacial Lake | Luggye first appeared in 1967 atop its glacier. It has a depth of 142m (466feet), and a width of 30m (100feet). Luggye produced a significant GLOF in 1994.[22] | ||
| Bechung Glacial Lake | Supra-glacial lake. | ||
| Roduphu Glacial Lake | This lake feeds into the Mo Chhu (River) basin.[23] | ||
| Sinchhe Glacial Lake | Sinchhe drains into the Mo Chhu (River) basin. | ||
| Gangchentag Glacial Lake | Located at the base of Gangchentag Mountain.[24] [25] | ||
| Wochey (Wachey) Glacial Lake | Wochey Lake lies at an altitude of 4220m (13,850feet), just below the Gokthong La pass, on the single longest glacier in Bhutan at 20.1km (12.5miles). | ||
| Teri Kang Glacial Lake | This dam-reinforced lake produced a devastating GLOF in the 1960s, partially destroying Punakha Dzong.[26] | ||
| Chubda Glacial Lake | Located in the upper Chamkhar Chhu basin, this large supraglacial lake was identified as a potential danger in 2001.[27] | ||
| Taksha Tsho Glacial Lake | Taksha Tsho is 500m (1,600feet) in diameter and 110m (360feet) deep. | ||
| Tsokar Glacial Lake | Glacial lake in the basin. | ||