Lakes of Bhutan

Glacial lakes in Bhutan (2002)

The lakes of Bhutan comprise its glacial lakes and its natural mountain lakes. Bhutanese territory contains some 2,674 high altitude glacial lakes and subsidiary lakes, out of which 25 pose a risk of GLOFs.[1][2] There are also more than 59 natural non-glacial lakes in Bhutan, covering about 4,250 hectares (16.4 sq mi). Most are located above an altitude of 3,500 metres (11,500 ft), and most have no permanent human settlements nearby, though many are used for grazing yaks and may have scattered temporary settlements.[3][4]

Only four lakes are below an altitude of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft): the temperate Ho Ko Tsho in Punakha District at 1,829 metres (6,001 ft); Luchika in Wangdue Phodrang at 1,830 metres (6,000 ft); Buli in Zhemgang at 1,372 metres (4,501 ft); and the subtropical Gulandi in Samdrup Jongkhar at 366 metres (1,201 ft).[3][4][5]

As phenomena of nature, all lakes in Bhutan are believed to be inhabited by spirits.[6]: 27  A handful of lakes in Bhutan are particularly sacred, most often connected to lives of Buddhist saints Guru Rimpoche and Pema Lingpa. For example, Membar Tsho ("Burning Lake"), in the Tang Valley near Bumthang, is heavily associated with Guru Rimpoche, who brought Buddhism to Bhutan and discovered his first terma in the lake in 1475.[7]: 21, 29, 177 

Most natural lake names are denoted with the word tsho, meaning "lake" (Dzongkha: མཚོ་; Wylie: mtsho).[8] They may be identified as an individuals, pairs, or groups of lakes.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference BO1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Thorthormi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Bisht, Ramesh Chandra (January 2008). International Encyclopaedia Of Himalayas. Mittal Publications. pp. 34–5. ISBN 978-81-8324-265-3.
  4. ^ a b "Survey of the Waters of Bhutan – Physiography and Fisheries Potential". United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. December 1978. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  5. ^ "Survey of the Waters of Bhutan – Physiography and Fisheries Potential". United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. December 1978. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  6. ^ Jordans, Bart (2008). Bhutan: A Trekker's Guide (2 ed.). Cicerone Press Limited. ISBN 978-1-85284-553-7. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  7. ^ Brown, Lindsay; Armington, Stan (2007). Bhutan (3 ed.). Lonely Planet. pp. 62, 105, 108, 113. ISBN 978-1-74059-529-2. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  8. ^ "༈ རྫོང་ཁ་ཨིང་ལིཤ་ཤན་སྦྱར་ཚིག་མཛོད། ༼མཚ-༽" [Dzongkha-English Dictionary: "MTSHA"]. Dzongkha-English Online Dictionary. Dzongkha Development Commission, Government of Bhutan. Archived from the original on 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2011-10-30.