Karakul (China)

Not to be confused with Karakul (Tajikistan).
Karakul

with Mt Kongur at the background
Location Xinjiang
Coordinates 38°26′N 75°03′E / 38.433°N 75.050°E / 38.433; 75.050Coordinates: 38°26′N 75°03′E / 38.433°N 75.050°E / 38.433; 75.050
Basin countries China
Surface area 4.8 km²
Max. depth 242 m
Surface elevation 3645 m

The Karakul or Karakuli (Uyghur: قاراكۆل‎, ULY: Qaraköl, lit. "black lake")[1] is a lake located 196 km southwest of Kashgar,[2] Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. It is located in Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture on the Karakoram Highway, before reaching Tashkurgan, the Khunjerab Pass on the China - Pakistan border and Sost in Pakistan.

At an altitude of 3,600 m, it is the highest lake of the Pamir plateau, near the junction of the Pamir, Tian Shan and Kunlun mountain ranges. Surrounded by mountains which remain snow-covered throughout the year, the three highest peaks visible from the lake are the Muztagh Ata (7,546 m), Kongur Tagh (7,649 m) and Kongur Tiube (7,530 m). The lake is popular among travellers for its beautiful scenery and the clarity of its reflection in the water, whose color ranges from a dark green to azure and light blue. There are two Kirgiz settlements along the shore of Karakul lake, a small number of yurts about 1 km east of the bus drop-off point and a village with stone houses located on the western shores.

Karakul
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 喀拉庫勒湖
Simplified Chinese 喀拉库勒湖
Abbreviation
Chinese 喀拉湖
Kirghiz name
Kirghiz Қарoкул

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Bonavia (2004), p. 348.
  2. ↑ Bonavia (2004), p. 337.

References

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