Xiezuo Lake | |
Coords: | 36.9621°N 95.6046°W |
Pushpin Map: | Qinghai |
Area: | 17sqkm |
Elevation: | 2680m (8,790feet) |
Xiezuo Lake is a lake in the northeastern Qarhan Playa north of Golmud in Dulan County, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin, it is extremely saline.
Xiezuo Lake lies at the northern edge of the Qaidam subbasin of the eastern Qarhan Playa at an elevation of 2680m (8,790feet) or 2691m (8,829feet). It has an area of about 17sqkm. It lies northeast of Dabusun Lake, north of Tuanjie Lake, and west of North Hulsan Lake and is periodically fed by the Quanji River Quánjí Hé) and mineral springs from the north. Although the volume of water from the springs is much smaller, their much higher concentration of solutes is important to the lake's chemical composition. The lake's depth usually does not exceed 1m (03feet).
The crescent shape of the lake reflects its bed's origin as the alluvial fan of a now-dry river.