Namtso

Namtso / Namco
View of the lake and the holy rock near the Tashi Dor monastery (2005)
Namtso / Namco
Relief map. Lhasa is the area marked in red at the bottom.
LocationDamxung/Baingoin, Tibet Autonomous Region
Coordinates30°42′N 90°33′E / 30.700°N 90.550°E / 30.700; 90.550
Typesalt lake
Primary inflowssnow cover and spring of Tanggula Mountains
Primary outflowsNone (endorheic)
Basin countriesPeople's Republic of China
Max. length70 km (43 mi)
Max. width30 km (19 mi)
Surface area1,920 km2 (740 sq mi)
Average depth33 m (108 ft)
Max. depth125 m (410 ft)
Water volume768 billion cubic metres (623×10^6 acre⋅ft)
Surface elevation4,718 m (15,479 ft)
Islands5
Namtso
Tibetan name
Tibetan གནམ་མཚོ་
Transcriptions
Wyliegnam mtsho
THLNamtso
Tibetan PinyinNam Co
Lhasa IPA[namtsʰo]
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese納木錯
Simplified Chinese纳木错
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinNàmù Cuò

Namtso or Lake Nam (officially: Namco; Mongolian: Tenger nuur; Chinese: 纳木错; pinyin: Nàmù Cuò; Tibetan: གནམ་མཚོ་, ZYPY: Nam Co; “Heavenly Lake” in European literature: Tengri Nor, 30°42′N 90°33′E / 30.700°N 90.550°E / 30.700; 90.550) is a mountain lake on the border between Damxung County of Lhasa prefecture-level city and Baingoin County of Nagqu Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, approximately 112 kilometres (70 mi) NNW of Lhasa.