Chaka Salt Lake
| Chaka Salt Lake | |
|---|---|
| Location | Ulan County, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China |
| Coordinates | 36°41′51″N 99°06′20″E / 36.6976°N 99.1055°E |
| Type | Salt lake |
| Basin countries | China |
| Max. length | 15.8 km (9.8 mi) |
| Max. width | 9.2 km (5.7 mi) |
| Surface area | 105 km2 (41 sq mi) |
| Surface elevation | 3,100 m (10,170 ft) |
| Settlements | Chaka, Ulan County |
Chaka Salt Lake (Chinese: 茶卡盐湖; pinyin: Chákǎ Yánhú; Standard Tibetan: ཚྭ་ཁ་མཚོ་) is a salt lake in Ulan County, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai, China. The oval-shaped lake is located near the eastern end of Qaidam Basin, 298 kilometres (185 mi) to the west of the provincial capital Xining. The name "Chaka" (ཚྭ་ཁ) means "salt lake" in Tibetan.
A branch railway connects the town of Chaka to the Qinghai–Tibet railway. Originally constructed for transporting salt, the line is nowadays used by tourist trains from Xining, with a travel time of over 4 hours.
Chaka Lake is a major tourist destination and a key salt mine in Qinghai. In 2018, it received more than 3 million visitors. The lake is famous for its crystal-blue water and reflective lake bed, and is popularly known as "Mirror of the Sky".