The Tibetan Plateau lies between the Himalayan range to the south and the Taklamakan Desert to the north

The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai-Tibetan (Qingzang) Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in the People's Republic of China and Ladakh in Kashmir. The Taklamakan Desert (Takelamagan Shamo 塔克拉玛干沙漠 also known as Taklimakan, is a Desert in Central Asia, in the Xinjiang In Geology and Earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR also called Xizang Autonomous Region (བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་ Wylie: Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs (青海 qīnghǎi is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Ladakh ( Ladakhi lad̪ɑks लदाख لدّاخ "land of high passes" is a region in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir between This article is about the geographical region of greater Kashmir It occupies an area of around 1,000 by 2,500 kilometers, and has an average elevation of over 4,500 meters. Sometimes called "the roof of the world," it is the highest and biggest plateau, with an area of 2. In Geology and Earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting 5 million square kilometers (about four times the size of Texas or France). Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. ^[1]

The Tibetan Plateau is surrounded by towering mountain ranges. ^[2] It is bordered to the northwest by the Kunlun Range which separates it from the Tarim Basin, and to the northeast by the Qilian Range which separates the plateau from the Gobi Desert. The Kunlun Mountains ( Mongolian: Хөндлөн Уулс is one of the longest Mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3000 Km. The Tarim Basin ( is a large Endorheic basin occupying an area of more than 400000 km² The Qilian Mountains ( also Nan Shan 南山 "southern mountains" viz The Gobi (Говь Govi or Gov', "gravel-covered plain" Chinese: zh-t 戈壁(沙漠 Gēbì (Shāmò) Near the south the plateau is transected by the Yarlung Tsangpo River valley which flows along the base of the Himalayas, and by the vast Indo-Gangetic Plain. The Indo-Gangetic Plain also known as the Northern plains and the North Indian River Plain is a large and fertile plain encompassing most of northern and eastern India, To the east and southeast the plateau gives way to the forested gorge and ridge geography of the mountainous headwaters of the Salween, Mekong, and Yangtze rivers in western Sichuan and southwest Qinghai. The Salween River (သံလွင်မြစ် θànlwìn myiʔ also spelled Salwine) rises in Tibet ( after which it flows through Yunnan The Mekong is one of the world’s major Rivers It is the 11th-longest river in the world and 7th longest in Asia ( Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in western China with its capital in Chengdu. In the west it is embraced by the curve of the rugged Karakoram range of northern Kashmir. Karakoram is a mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, China, and India, located in the regions of Gilgit, Ladakh, and This article is about the geographical region of greater Kashmir

Description

NASA satellite image of the southern area of Tibetan Plateau

The plateau is a high-altitude arid steppe interspersed with mountain ranges and large brackish lakes. In physical Geography, a steppe ( German, from степь - "a flat and arid land" степ - /stɛp/ тал - tal дала - /dɑlɑ/ pronounced Annual precipitation ranges from 100 mm to 300 mm and falls mainly as hailstorms. Hail is a form of precipitation which consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice (hailstones The southern and eastern edges of the steppe have grasslands which can sustainably support populations of nomadic herdsmen, although frost occurs for six months of the year. Nomadic people, (from the νομάδες nomádes, "those who let pasture herds" also known as nomads, are communities of people that Frost is the solid deposition of Water vapor from saturated air Proceeding to the north and northwest, the plateau becomes progressively higher, colder and drier, until reaching the remote Changtang region in the northwestern part of the plateau. Here the average altitude exceeds 5,000 meters (16,500 feet) and year-round temperatures average −4 °C, dipping to −40 °C in winter. As a result of this extremely inhospitable environment, the Changtang region (together with the adjoining Kekexili region) is the least populated region in Asia, and the third least populated area in the world after Antarctica and northern Greenland. Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the

For extensive parts of the plateau, permafrost occurs. This article is about frozen ground For other meanings see Permafrost (disambiguation.

Nomads

One of the greatest advances in human culture is the development of nomadic pastoralism, the adaptation by nomadic people to survival on the world's grassland by raising livestock rather than crops which are unsuitable to the terrain. Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of Agriculture concerned with the raising of Livestock. Grasslands (also called greenswards) are areas where the Vegetation is dominated by Grasses ( Poaceae) and other Herbaceous (non-woody Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food Nomads currently surviving on the Tibetan Plateau and in the Himalayas are the remainders of nomadic practices historically once widespread in Asia and Africa. Nomadic people, (from the νομάδες nomádes, "those who let pasture herds" also known as nomads, are communities of people that ^[3]

Gallery

Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and Sichuan Province of China lie on the Tibetan Plateau. The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR also called Xizang Autonomous Region (བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་ Wylie: Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs (青海 qīnghǎi is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake. ( Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in western China with its capital in Chengdu. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National

See also

• Geography of Tibet
• Taklamakan Desert
• Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau
• Lop Nur

References

Notes

• The End of Earth's Summer
• Long Rivers and Distant Sources
• "Roof of the Earth" Offers Clues About How Our Planet Was Shaped

External links

• Plateau Perspectives (international NGO)
• Leaf morphology and the timing of the rise of the Tibetan Plateau
• Todays weather in the eastern Chang Tang
• Protected areas of the Tibetan Plateau region
• North Tibetan Plateau-Kunlun Mountains alpine desert
• Photos of Tibetan nomads
• "Roof of the Earth" Offers Clues About How Our Planet Was Shaped