- Characteristics of the Tsaidam Desert
- Tsaidam Desert Climate
- Flora of the Tsaidam Basin
Interestingly, the Tsaidam Desert actually belongs to the territory of the People's Republic of China, but its name must be translated from the Mongolian language. Literally, "Tsaidam" means a salt marsh area. There are other geographical names behind which this desert is also hidden, the most famous among them are the Tsaidam Plain and the Tsaidam Basin.
All variants of the toponym are based on one thing - the geographical position that this piece of land occupies. The Tsaidam Desert is a tectonic depression. It occupies the territory of the Tibetan Plateau, of course, not all, but only the northeast. The second characteristic feature that explains the presence of the word "hollow" in the toponym is the environment, and from the south, and from the northeast, and northwest, the desert is surrounded by mountain ranges and ridges.
Characteristics of the Tsaidam Desert
The hollow is a strip, it stretches 700 kilometers in length, its width varies, the smallest indicator of width is 100 kilometers, the largest is 300 kilometers. The Tsaidam Desert is heterogeneous, it can be conditionally divided into two parts.
Those territories that are located in the northwest are plain. It consists mainly of sandy and clayey areas, its height above sea level ranges from 2600 to 2900 meters. In addition, it can be noted that in this part of the basin there are ridges, individual elongated hills, ridges, areas where the processes of aeolian weathering are observed.
A part of the Tsaidam territory, located in the southeast, is separated by a scarp from the northwestern part of the depression; the scarp height is about 100 meters. Clay-sandy soils are practically not found here, but crustal salt marshes are widespread. The reason for their appearance in the local territories was the ancient lakes that disappeared from the face of the earth.
The closer to mountain ranges, ridges and ridges, the more often you can find sloping plains, their formation was due to temporary streams formed during the rainy season.
Tsaidam Desert Climate
According to the data of long-term observations, a sharply continental climate prevails on the territory of the basin. It is characterized by relatively low temperatures, without large fluctuations. On average, the January temperature (the coldest month) is at the level of –11 ° С (reaches –15 ° С). The temperature in the hottest month, July, ranges from + 15 ° С to + 18 ° С.
There is very little precipitation in these places, and it was this indicator that influenced the assignment of the territory of Tsaidam to the desert zone. According to forecasters, a record low amount of precipitation falls here - 25-50 mm. In the eastern regions of the basin, their number is several times higher; in some years, it dropped to 150 mm. Precipitation is observed mainly in summer, winters are usually snowless.
As for the water sources, there are no permanent ones in the desert at all. The northwest is waterless, the southeast has several lakes, they are filled with water only during summer floods due to rivers with periodic flow and dry up quickly.
Flora of the Tsaidam Basin
Given the geographical location and the difference between the northwest and southeast of the basin, the same division can be seen in the example of desert vegetation. The northwestern region of Tsaidam is characterized by the presence of single shrubs. In the list of plants that have adapted to life in such climatic conditions, you can find hodgepodge, lonely growing trees with an interesting name - shark fish. Sometimes there are thickets of Zaisan saxaul. The sands, which are a characteristic feature of the local landscape, are fixed by bushes of tamarisk and Tangut saltpeter, and Chinese dereza.
The southeastern region, where you can find drying lakes or groundwater with a close occurrence, is richer in representatives of the flora kingdom. In these areas, there are meadows, the main types of vegetation of which are grasses and sedges. The second type found on these lands is reed bogs. The southern regions of Tsaidam are characterized by saline meadows, the plants are able to withstand periods of regular flooding, they are salt-tolerant and cold-tolerant.
The plant cover contains potash, fine feathery feather grass, rheumurium, various types of wormwood, tansy, Przewalski's ephedra. On the outskirts of the Tsaidam desert, where more precipitation falls, you can find steppe and various types of meadow vegetation, forests. Along the river beds, there are communities of potash and saline meadows, reeds, thickets of tamarisk, kendyr grow well in bogs, and the same potash, saltwort, saltpeter and wolfberry on salt marshes.
