Survey of the lake
Qinghaihu is situated at the northeast end of the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau, between 97°50′ and 101°20′E longitude and 36°15′ and 38°20′N latitude, in the northwest of China. It was given its name because of its expanse of water and the azure color; in Chinese. Qing means azure, Hai means open sea and Hu means lake (Figure Q1). The lake surface has the shape of a pear, with a circumference of about 360 km, covering a length of some 109 km from east to west and a width of 65 km from south to north. Its annual water stage (in 1988), measured at the Shatuosi Hydrological Station on the north shore, is 3193.59 m, with a surface area of 4282.3 km2 and a capacity of 73.88 billion m3. It is therefore the largest lake in China (Figure Q2).
The situation of Qinghaihu in China.
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© 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Yueling, J., Dewei, C. (1998). Qinghaihu lake, China . In: Herschy, R.W., Fairbridge, R.W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Hydrology and Water Resources. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4497-7_178
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4497-7_178
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