- Chinese (Pinyin):
- Kunlun Shan or
- (Wade-Giles romanization):
- Kâun-lun Shan
Kunlun Mountains
-
What are the Kunlun Mountains?
The Kunlun Mountains are a vast mountain system in southern Central Asia that stretches about 1,250 miles (2,000 km) from the Pamirs in Tajikistan in the west to central Qinghai province in China in the east. The mountains form a massive barrier between the Plateau of Tibet and the Tarim Basin in western China.
Rather than a single crest, the Kunluns consist of two or three parallel ridges, especially in the western sections. The highest point in the Kunluns is Mount Muztag, reaching 25,338 feet (7,723 meters). The climate is influenced by continental air masses, resulting in significant temperature variations. Precipitation varies across the region, with maximum aridity in the central part of the mountain system.
Desert and steppe conditions limit vegetation growth, with much of the area consisting of rocky deserts. The northern rim of the Kunlun Mountains once served as the southern branch of the Silk Road.
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Where are the Kunlun Mountains located in Asia?
The Kunlun Mountains are located in southern Central Asia, extending approximately 1,250 miles (2,000 km) from the Pamirs in Tajikistan in the west to the central Qinghai province in China in the east. They form a significant Inner Asian barrier between the Plateau of Tibet and the Tarim Basin in western China. The northern rim of the Kunlun Mountains once served as the southerly route of the Silk Road, connecting China with Central and Southwest Asia until the 16th century.
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How long is the Kunlun Mountain range?
The Kunlun Mountains stretch for approximately 1,250 miles (2,000 km) from the Pamirs in Tajikistan in the west to the Kunlun Pass and the ranges of central Qinghai province in China in the east. The width of the Kunluns varies, but it rarely exceeds 125 miles (200 km). The mountain range acts as a divider between the Plateau of Tibet and the Tarim Basin in western China.
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What countries do the Kunlun Mountains pass through?
The Kunlun Mountains traverse through southern Central Asia, extending approximately 1,250 miles (2,000 km) from the Pamirs in Tajikistan in the west to the Kunlun Pass and adjacent ranges of central Qinghai province in China in the east. The Kunluns served as the southerly route of the Silk Road, connecting China with Central and Southwest Asia until the 16th century.
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What kinds of plants and animals live in the Kunlun Mountains?
The Kunlun Mountains have desert or steppe conditions that limit vegetation. Rock deserts constitute much of the terrain. Stagnant water pools offer water for wild ungulates like the Tibetan gazelle, Tibetan goat antelope (chiru), wild asses (kiang), and wild yaks.
In the more humid western mountains, argali sheep graze on the high grasslands. Blue sheep, Ladakh urials, and ibexes range throughout the western reaches. Willow thickets near watercourses frequently contain brown bears, and wolves are endemic; the snow leopard is rare. Many migratory waterfowl visit the lakes during seasonal migration.
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Kunlun Mountains, mountain system of southern Central Asia. The Kunluns extend west to east some 1,250 miles (2,000 km), from the Pamirs in Tajikistan in the west to the Kunlun Pass and the adjacent ranges of central Qinghai province in China in the eastâBurhan Budai, Bayan Har, and AânyĂȘmaqĂȘn (Amne Machin). The width of the Kunluns varies considerably but rarely exceeds 125 miles (200 km). In the western margins they form an Inner Asian rampart between the Plateau of Tibet and the Tarim (Talimu) Basin in western China. A northern fork of the Altun (Altyn Tagh) Mountains continues this alignment.
The southern face of the Kunlun Mountains rises no more than 5,000 feet (1,500 metres) above the Plateau of Tibet, which itself averages some 15,000 feet (4,600 metres) in elevation. From the perspective of the oases at the southern edge of the Takla Makan Desert to the north of the mountains, however, the Kunluns form a massive rampart blocking access to the icy barren expanses of the westernmost reaches of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
Physical features
Physiography
Throughout much of their alignment, the Kunlun Mountains comprise two or three parallel ridges rather than a single crest. This is especially true in the western reaches. At the Sarykol Range where the Kunluns forge out from the Pamirs, a spur to the east called the Muztagata Range actually has some of the highest summitsâMount Kongur, at 25,325 feet (7,719 metres), as well as Mount Muztagata, at 24,757 feet (7,546 metres). A major bifurcation occurs just south of the oasis town of Qiemo (Cherchen); there, the Altun Mountains branch in a northeasterly direction from the Arkatag Mountains at Mount Muztag (Muztagh), which at 25,338 feet (7,723 metres) is the highest point in the Kunluns. To the east the northern rim of the Kunluns then becomes the southern margin of the vast, high Qaidam (Tsaidam) Basin. High valleys with occasional saline lakes intersperse the medial Kunlun ridges.
The highest crest of the main range of the western Kunlun Mountains is Mount Keriya, at an elevation of 23,359 feet (7,120 metres). Several peaks exceeding 20,000 feet (6,000 metres) punctuate the skyline in the central to eastern reaches, including Mount Muztag and Bukadaban Peak (22,507 feet [6,860 metres]). The surrounding plain lies above 16,000 feet (4,900 metres); hence, these mountains do not have the prominence of other high mountains in Asia. Soil zonation is simple in structure, with steppe soils and desert soils, both including those of the alpine group, predominating. Organic content is low, and bogs, moors, and saline depressions are common at the lower altitudes. Eolian erosion results in scattered large sand dunes.
Geology
The principal folded structures and granitic rocks of the Kunlun Mountains date to about 250 million years ago, a time during which there was much mountain building in the Eastern Hemisphere. The inner depressions of the Kunluns, however, are relatively recent structures in their entirety, being formed by deposits that are no more than 26 million years old; only the largest of them, the Qaidam Basin, contains a thick sedimentary cover of which Jurassic deposits (i.e., those roughly 145 to 200 million years old) represent the oldest strata. The Kunlun Mountains also represent a region of geologically recent movements of the Earthâs crust, and a considerable amount of seismic (earthquake) activity still occurs, particularly associated with the Altun strike-slip fault system.
Drainage and glaciation
The Kunlun Mountains form a part of that region in Central Asia in which there is only internal drainage, associated mainly with the Tarim and Qaidam basins to the north and the basins of the Plateau of Tibet to the south. Only the most easterly spurs of the mountain system, where the source of the Huang He (Yellow River) is located, have drainage systems that empty into the ocean.
There are two river networks in the Kunluns: the large streams that rise in the Karakoram Range to the southwest and in northern Tibet, cutting through the entire chain of Kunlun ranges by way of gorges, and the small streams that drain the slopes of the peripheral ranges. The major rivers form lengthy, zigzag valleys; several supply irrigation water to the oases on the northern rim of the Kunlun Mountains.
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Although they receive some rainwater, the Kunlun rivers are fed mainly by snows and glaciers. The volume of flow thus varies with the seasons; 60 to 80 percent of it occurs in the summer months, when intensive thawing of snow and ice in the mountains is combined with maximum precipitation. High evaporation of snow and glacial meltwater has resulted in the formation of extensive salt pans.
In spite of the great elevation, there is little glaciation in the Kunluns because of the extreme dryness of the climate; snow cover persists only along the deep crevices of the highest peaks. The main centres of glaciation occur at elevations of about 23,000 feet (7,000 metres). All the glaciers are notable for their unusual steepness and for their paucity of meltwater.