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Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains

geography Maturity 7-9 Next article →

The Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains are a long mountain range in Tibet. They sit within the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. This range is part of a larger system called the Transhimalaya.

2 2 himal tecto units
2 2 himal tecto units

These mountains run north of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. They sit parallel to the famous Himalayas. The range stretches from Nyêmo County in the west to Ranwu County in the east. It is a very important part of the landscape in this region.

Nyainqentanglha
Nyainqentanglha

The mountains are split into two main parts. The first part is the West Nyenchen Tanglha. This section is near the Namtso area. It includes the four highest peaks in the whole range. These peaks are all above 7,000 meters. Mount Nyenchen Tanglha is the tallest at 7,162 meters. Other high peaks here include Nyenchen Tanglha II, Nyenchen Tanglha III, and Jomo Gangtse. These mountains help separate different basins of land. The Lhasa River flows from the northeastern part of this section.

The second part is the East Nyenchen Tanglha. This area is located in Nagqu, Chamdo, and Nyingchi. Some people call these mountains the "Alps of Tibet." This part of the range is very rugged. It has more than 240 peaks that rise over 5,000 meters. One very famous peak here is Sepu Kangri. It reaches a height of 6,956 meters. This section is also very snowy and holds much of the ice.

Nyainqentanglha
Nyainqentanglha

Ice and water are very important in these mountains. The mountains contain many glaciers, which are huge rivers of ice. One source says there are 7,080 glaciers here. Most of these glaciers are in the eastern section. The Kyagquen Glacier is the largest one. It covers 100 square kilometers and is very long. The mountains also help create this ice. Southwest monsoons bring moist air to the plateau. The mountains force the air upward. This creates high rainfall that feeds the glaciers.

Climbing these mountains can be a very hard job. Many peaks in the east have never been climbed. In 1997 and 1998, climbers tried to reach Sepu Kangri. They wrote a book about it called "Tibet's Secret Mountain." Finally, Mark Newcomb and Carlos Buhler reached the top in 2002. Other climbers have reached peaks like Kajaqiao and Manamcho. Manamcho is even called the "Matterhorn of the East." These mountains are a place of great wonder and mystery.

Nyainqentanglha
Nyainqentanglha
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