Qaidam Basin | |||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 柴達木盆地 | ||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 柴达木盆地 | ||||||||
Postal | Zaidam Swamp | ||||||||
Literal meaning | Qaidam Lowlands | ||||||||
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Tibetan name | |||||||||
Tibetan | ཚྭའི་འདམ་ | ||||||||
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Mongolian name | |||||||||
Mongolian Cyrillic | Цайдам | ||||||||
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Qaidam Desert | |||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 柴達木盆地沙漠 | ||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 柴达木盆地沙漠 | ||||||||
Literal meaning | Qaidam Lowland Desert | ||||||||
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The Qaidam, Tsaidam, or Chaidamu Basin is a hyperarid basin that occupies a large part of Haixi Prefecture in Qinghai Province, China. The basin covers an area of approximately 120,000 km2 (46,000 sq mi), one-fourth of which is covered by saline lakes and playas. Around one third of the basin, about 35,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi), is desert.