Altun Shan National Nature Reserve
Altun Shan National Nature Reserve is a large, arid area in the southeast of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, on the northern edge of the Tibetan plateau and the southern edge of the Tarim Basin in northwest China. It surrounds the Kumkol Basin, an endorheic basin in the western third of the Altyn-Tagh mountains. The reserve is sometimes referred to as the "Arjin Mountains Nature Reserve", or "Aerjinshan". The reserve covers the southern portions of Qiemo County and Ruoqiang County ) of Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang.
Topography
The Altun Shan Reserve is an elongated triangular area on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, just south of the Tarim Basin. The reserve occupies the V-shaped region between the southern slopes of the Altun Shan range on the north and the northern slopes of the Kulun mountain range on the south. The eastern third of the reserve is the Komkul Basin, an arid plateau at an altitude of 4,500 meters. The reserve measures about 800 km west–east, and 200 km north–south. There are no permanent towns or roads in the area.There are three large lakes in the Kumkol basin of the reserve: Lake Ayakum, Lake Aqqikkal, and Lake Jingyu. All are saline. The northernmost, Lake Ayakum, is at an altitude of 12,685 feet and has an area of 283 sqmi. Its depth reaches 74 feet. To the west of Lake Ayakum is Lake Aqqikkal, at an altitude of 13,940 ft, and which is 16 miles across. Lake Jingyu is the southernmost.