Kanas Lake

Kanas Lake
喀纳斯湖 (Chinese)
Kanas Lake is located in Dzungaria
Kanas Lake
Kanas Lake
LocationXinjiang, China
Coordinates48°48′54″N 87°02′24″E / 48.81500°N 87.04000°E / 48.81500; 87.04000
Primary outflowsKanas River
Basin countriesChina
Surface area45.73 km2 (17.66 sq mi)
Average depth120 m (390 ft)
Max. depth188.5 m (618 ft)
Water volume5.49 km3 (1.32 cu mi)
Surface elevation1,340 m (4,400 ft)

Kanas Lake (Chinese: 喀纳斯湖; pinyin: Kānàsī Hú, Xiao'erjing: كَانَاسِ خٗ; Mongolian: Ханас нуур; [قاناس كۆلى] Error: {{Langx}}: invalid parameter: |lat= (help), USY: Қанас Көли) is a lake in Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. The lake is located in a valley in the Altai Mountains, near the very northern tip of Xinjiang and the autonomous region's borders with Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The lake was formed around 200,000 years ago during the Quaternary period as a result of glacier movement. The crescent moon shaped lake has an estimated water storage capacity of 53.8 billion cubic meters, coupled with an average depth of around 120 meters.[1]

The Kanas River, flowing out of the lake, later merges with the Hemu River to form the Burqin River, which itself discharges into the Irtysh River at Burqin Town, the county seat of Burqin County.

There is a large population of ethnic Tuvans and Kazakhs in the Kanas valley. While most of these people have maintained their traditional agricultural and nomadic life styles, many work in the developing tourism industry and have established facilities for orienteering, hiking, rafting, rock climbing, paragliding and camping.[2][3] The scenic spot is classified as a AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration.[4]

  1. ^ "This domain was registered by Youdot.io".
  2. ^ "地址不存在".
  3. ^ "感受东方的瑞士风情:喀纳斯户外探险全攻略_户外运动_乐途旅游网". Archived from the original on 2011-12-16. Retrieved 2011-07-17.
  4. ^ "AAAAA Scenic Areas". China National Tourism Administration. 16 November 2008. Archived from the original on 4 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2011.