Tanggula Mountains

Tanggula Mountains viewed from Qinghai.

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

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

Overview

The elevations of the main ridge average more than 5,000 m (16,404 ft). The Yangtze River originates in this mountain range and Peak Geladandong (at 6,621 metres or 21,722 feet, located within the town of Tanggula) is the tallest peak in the range.^[2]

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 5,072 metres (16,640 feet) above sea level.^[3] On account of the snow and occasional road accidents, highway closures and concomitant traffic delays are not uncommon.^[4]

The mountains lie within the Tibetan Plateau alpine shrub and meadows ecoregion.^[5]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tanggula Mountains.

References

Coordinates: 33°30′00″N 91°04′12″E / 33.50000°N 91.07000°E / 33.50000; 91.07000

Mountain ranges of China
Geography of China
Northwest China	Altai Mountains Dzungarian Alatau Tian Shan Borohoro Mountains Tarbagatai Mountains Kunlun Mountains Altyn-Tagh Qilian Mountains Helan Mountains
Qinghai-Tibet and Southwest China	Himalayas Transhimalaya Pamir Mountains Karakoram Argu Tagh Yengisogat Kunlun Mountains Hoh Xil Bayan Har Mountains Amne Machin Tanggula Mountains Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains Hengduan Mountains Gaoligong Mountains Yunling Mountains Ailao Mountains Qionglai Mountains Daxue Mountains Min Mountains
Northeast China	Greater Khingan Lesser Khingan Changbai Mountains Wanda Mountains Qian Mountains
Northern China	Yin Mountains Lang Mountains Lüliang Mountains Taihang Mountains Zhongtiao Mountains Qin Mountains Dabie Mountains Mount Tai
Central China	Daba Mountains Wudang Mountains Jingshan Mountains Dabie Mountains Luoxiao Mountains Jiuling Mountains Mufu Mountains Wugong Mountains Huangshan Tianmu Mountain Wuling Mountains Xuefeng Mountains Yandang Mountains Wuyi Mountains
Southern China	Cang Mountain Daliang Mountains Dalou Mountains Nanling Mountains Jiuyi Mountains Yuecheng Mountains Longmen Mountains Western Mountains
Landforms of China