Qarhan Playa
| Qarhan Playa | |
|---|---|
| Location | Golmud & Dulan counties Haixi Prefecture Qinghai Province China |
| Coordinates | 37°01′27″N 95°08′20″E / 37.024081°N 95.1389253°E |
| Type | Salt flat |
| Primary inflows | Golmud River |
| Basin countries | China |
| Max. length | 160 km (100 mi) |
| Max. width | 20–40 km (12–25 mi) |
| Surface area | 5,856 km2 (2,261 sq mi) |
| Surface elevation | 2,677 m (8,780 ft) |
| Qarhan Playa | |||||||||
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"Zaidam Swamp" in 1917, with names given in Postal Map Romanization | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 察爾汗䀋湖 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 察尔汗盐湖 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Qarhan Salt Lake | ||||||||
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| Former transcription | |||||||||
| Chinese | 察罕 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Qarhan | ||||||||
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| Sanhu | |||||||||
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The Sanhu area (2014) with the two Taijinar lakes to the northwest (ESA) | |||||||||
| Chinese | 三湖 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | The Three Lakes | ||||||||
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| Qarhan National Mining Park | |||||||||
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Dabusun Lake, the largest lake in the playa, sometimes misleadingly also called "Qarhan Lake", beside the mining park museum | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 格爾木察爾汗鹽湖國家礦山公園 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 格尔木察尔汗盐湖国家矿山公园 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Qarhan Salt Lake National Mining Park in Golmud | ||||||||
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The Qarhan Playa or Salt Plain, also misleadingly described as Qarhan Lake, is a playa in the Golmud and Dulan counties of Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai, China. Formerly a single unitary lake, it is now an expansive salt flat divided into four greater sections (Dabusun, Big/Small Bieletan, Suli, and N./S. Huoluxun) which contain a number of smaller salt lakes, the largest of which is Dabusun Lake. The area is heavily exploited for its valuable salt, mineral, and rare earth reserves but parts are also protected as a national park and contribute to regional tourism.