| Known as the "Lake of Heaven" the Namtso Lake | | | | much warmer and more humid t00, and the rippling |
| lies in the north Tibetan plateau north of the main | | | | lake was just like a sea. As the earth's crust |
| peak of the Nyainqentanglha Mountains. The lake. | | | | continued to rise.SO too did the lake. Some 10,000 |
| 4,720 meters above sea level and 55 meters deep, | | | | years ago. The plateau turned cold and dry and the |
| covers an area of 1,96 1.5 square kilometers, making | | | | lake's water sources decreased, resulting in the lake |
| it the highest of Tibet's three largest lakes and the | | | | shrinking in size. There are three shorelines around |
| second largest salt lake in China. | | | | the lake, the highest of which is 80 meters higher |
| Some two million years ago, drastic movement of | | | | than today's lake shore. |
| the earth's crust caused the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to | | | | Summer is the most active time at the Namtso Lake, |
| rise by a huge degree. As a result of the intense | | | | when wild animals, among them yaks, gazelles and |
| pressures exerted in this process, some strata were | | | | hares, graze happily on the broad grasslands and |
| folded into high mountains whilst others fell, creating | | | | many migrating birds arrive from the south, to lay |
| valleys or basins. The Namtso Lake was a result, | | | | their eggs, hatch and raise their broods on islets and |
| first, of the movement of the earth's crust. | | | | lakeshore. Fish often leap out of the water, revealing |
| Exacerbated by glacier movement?In the lake's early | | | | their silvery scales. Leisurely herders tend their |
| days, it had a much wider surface area and a lower | | | | horses, sheep and cattle, filling the valleys with their |
| elevation than it has today. The climate then was | | | | lovely echoing songs. |