The Namtso Lake in Wikipedia

When I was looking for some information about Tibet on Wikipedia, I found the article about Namtso was lacking information, so I decided to edit it. I made a little change on the basic definition of Namtso's Geography and Climate and added the part about the its religious meaning.

Here is what Wikipedia said:

Namtso or Lake Nam (officially: Nam Co; Mongolian: Tengri Nor; “Heavenly Lake”; 30°42′N     90°33′E) is a mountain lake on the border between Damxung County of Lhasa Prefecture and Baingoin County of Nagqu Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, approximately 112 kilometers (70 mi) NNW of Lhasa.

Geography and climate

Namtso was born in the Paleogene age, as a result of Himalayan tectonic plate movements. The lake lies at an elevation of 4,718 m (15,479 ft), and has a surface area of 1,920 km2 (740 sq mi). This salt lake is the largest lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region. However, it is not the largest lake on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. That title belongs to Qinghai Lake (more than twice the size of Namtso); which lies more than 1,000 km (620 mi) to the north-east in Qinghai.

Namtso has five uninhabited islands of reasonable size, in addition to one or two rocky outcrops. The islands have been used for spiritual retreat by pilgrims who walk over the lake's frozen surface at the end of winter, carrying their food with them. They spend the summer there, unable to return to shore again until the water freezes the following winter. This practice is no longer permitted by Chinese authorities.

 The largest of the islands is in the northwest corner of the lake, and is about 2,100 m (6,900 ft) long and 800 m (2,600 ft) wide, rising to just over 100 m (330 ft) in the middle. At its closest point it is about 3.1 km (1.9 mi) from the shore.

 The most remote island is, at its closest, 5.1 km (3.2 mi) from the shore. At summer time birds like Ruddy shelduck and cormorants (Phalacrocorax sp.) migrate to the lake area, besides the fields of Astragalus, Roegneria nutans and Marram grass.

The weather at Namtso is subject to abrupt, sudden change and snowstorms are very common across the Nyainqêntanglha range.

Here is my change

Namtso or Lake Nam (officially: Nam Co; Mongolian: Tengri Nor; “Heavenly Lake”; 30°42′N 90°33′E) is a mountain lake on the border between Damxung County of Lhasa Prefecture and Baingoin County of Nagqu Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, approximately 112 kilometers (70 mi) NNW of Lhasa.[unchanged from original Wikipedia post] Namtso is one of the three sacred lakes of Tibet and the third largest salt lake in China. It is also the highest lake in the world, and at  an elevation of 4,718m (15,479 ft).

Geography and climate

Namtso was born two million years ago during the Paleogene age, as a result of Himalayan tectonic plate movements.  It was a deep and widened lake in the beginning; after entering the Quaternary, due to the collision of continental plate extrusion, Tibetan Plateau continuous to uplift and the climate became dry. This caused the lake to shrink and decline. Now we can still see some ancient coastlines which reflect those geographic changes.  The nearest one is 80 meters away from the current lake. The lake lies at an elevation of 4,718 m (15,479 ft), and has a surface area of 1,920 km² (740 sq mi). This salt lake is the largest lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region.  There are more than 1,500 lakes around Namtso. However, it is not the largest lake on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. That title belongs to Qinghai Lake (more than twice the size of Namtso), which lies more than 1,000 km (620 mi) to the north-east in Qinghai.

Namtso has five islands, which are all holy lands for Buddhists. They think the islands are the embodiment of Buddha. The biggest island, called “Liangduo,” has area of 1.2 km² (0.46 sq mi). Namtso also has five bylands. The most famous one is Tashi Dor at the southeastern corner of the Namtso.  The byland has a typical karst landform. At the entrance of the byland, there are two big rocks called “welcome stones” or “couple stones.” These two rocks are the goalkeepers of Namtso.

The climate of Namsto  is changeable: snowstorms may suddenly happen during summer. And the lake is supplied by the thaw water from Nyainqêntanglha range and the rainwater.

The religious meaning

Namtso is one of three sacred lakes of Tibet. The Tibetan Buddhists think Namtso is a heavenly lake and the embodiment of the Buddhist goddess of Tara. They think the Lake can protect their flock of sheep.  Every Goat Year of Tibetan calendar, Tibetan Buddhists will spend three months to walk around the whole lake to pray for the Tara.

 Come on! Continue subscribe to my blog! Next week I will share some horrible story about  Tibetan culture.