Kanas Lake

--Kanas Lake is a high mountain lake hidden in the deep mountains and dense forests of Altay. It forms the main part of the whole Kanas Scenic Area with Hemu village in the East and baihaba village in the West.

--Compared with the cultural landscape of the other two villages, Kanas Lake is fascinating for its mysterious lake monster, colorful lake water and dazzling natural scenery.

--The inner side of the crescent moon is the east bank. There are six platforms protruding to the center of the lake. The viewing platform of the third Bay is the best place to enjoy the sunset on the lake.

--Located at the top of camel peak on the west side of the lake, the viewing platform is the best angle to overlook the panoramic view of Kanas Lake. It can not only get a panoramic view of three-quarters of the lake, but also see the mountains and green peaks around the lake.

--Some tourists will start from Kanas Lake and walk eastward to Hemu Village (1-2 days), which has become a paradise route in the eyes of domestic outdoor lovers.

Kanas Lake

Kanas Lake: National AAAAA tourist attraction, National Geopark, National Forest Park, China Nature Reserve, National Natural Heritage, national low-carbon tourism experimental area, China's most beautiful lake, Kanas Lake is known as "fairyland and God's garden".

Kanas is Mongolian, which means "beautiful and mysterious lake". Kanas Lake is located in the north of Buerjin County, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The lake water comes from the glacial melt water and local precipitation of Kuitun, youyifeng and other mountains. The lake is 1374 meters above sea level and covers an area of 45.73 ㎞. The deepest elevation of the lake is 1181.5 meters, the depth of the lake is 188.5 meters, and the water storage capacity reaches 5.38 billion cubic meters. It is the deepest moraine barrier lake in China and is located in the deep mountains and dense forests of Altay It is a high mountain lake and an inland fresh water lake.

Kanas Lake scenic area is composed of exotic natural landscapes such as mountains, rivers, forests, lakes and grasslands, historical and cultural relics such as Genghis Khan's western expedition site Jiangtai, ancient rock paintings, and unique folk customs of Mongolian Tuwa people. There are major scenic spots such as tuojing Bay, chameleon lake, Wolong Bay, and guanyutai, which have high tourism, nature protection, scientific investigation, and historical and cultural value Value.

There are several wonders in Kanas Lake. One is the kilometer long dry wood dike, which is formed by floating driftwood floating upstream by strong valley wind. The other is the giant "water monster" in the lake, which often drags the horses drinking by the lake into the water, adding some mystery to Kanas. Some people think that it is a kind of red fish (Zhero salmon) that is a local specialty It's a wonderful sight only when the rain is over and the sky is clear.

Location context

Kanas Lake is located in the north of Buerjin County, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, starting from kalemaxu in the north, Heute in the south, tiewaike in the East and argysala in the West. Located at 48 ° 81 ′ 46 ″ N and 87 ° 04 ′ 10 ″ e, it is 150 km away from Buerjin County, with an area of 45.75 ㎞ 2, an average water depth of 120 meters, the deepest reaches 188.5 meters, and a water storage capacity of 5.38 billion cubic meters. It is a high mountain lake located in the deep mountains and dense forests of Altay.

hydrographic features

Kanas Lake is 1374 meters above sea level, with a storage capacity of 5.38 billion cubic meters, ranking third among freshwater lakes in China. The deepest elevation of the lake is 1181.5 meters, and the depth of the lake is 188.5 meters. It is the deepest moraine barrier lake in China. There are many cliffs on both sides of the lake, with clear fault traces. The north side of the lake is ne oriented, and the south is zigzag, interwoven with the regional ne-w direction It is the result of Quaternary glaciation and tectonic fault depression. Kanas Lake is the only Arctic water system in China. The lake water comes from the glacial melt water and local precipitation from Kuitun, youyifeng and other mountains, and flows into Kanas Lake from the surface or underground.

The annual precipitation of Kanas Lake is about 1000mm, and the maximum precipitation zone is 2100m above sea level. The winter is long with abundant snowfall, and frost usually appears at the beginning of August. When the altitude is more than 1400m, it begins to snow in late August; when the altitude is more than 3000m, it begins to snow in early August until late may or early June of the next year. The snowfall period is about 8 months, the snow depth can reach 1-2m, the snowfall days are generally more than 73 days, and the stable snow period is about 200 days. The snow line is about 2850 meters above sea level. The annual evaporation is about 1000 mm, which is roughly equal to the precipitation.

The relative humidity of Kanas Lake is 59% - 90%. The humidity increases with the elevation, and the humidity in the forest can reach more than 90%.

Formation and evolution

According to the data of glacier and permafrost published by National Geographic magazine of China, Kanas river basin is located on the south slope of Youyi peak and Kuitun peak, the main peaks of Altay Mountain. The mountains around the basin are stepped fault block mountains. Due to the strong erosion of glaciers since the early Quaternary, horny peaks, edge ridges, ancient ice buckets, U-shaped valleys, suspended valleys, moraine ridges, moraine lakes and thawed mud flow terraces are well developed. It can be distinguished from the ancient glacial landforms that there were three obvious glacial periods here. Kanas Lake was formed by the excavation and erosion of the huge composite valley glaciers in the second great glacial period. At that time, the glaciers were several kilometers long and 200-500 meters thick. The end of the glacier tongue was stable at the mouth of the lake, and was in a state of equilibrium. Gradually, more than 1000 meters wide and 50-70 meters high glaciers were accumulated at the mouth of Kanas Lake The final moraine ridge formed by Daogang depression is about 20 meters high on the outermost side, which is arc-shaped and convex on the outer side, and the inner side is connected with the lake by slope. The final moraine is undulating and composed of different thickness moraine blocks, sand and clay. In the later stage, due to the warming climate, the glacier retreated rapidly and formed Kanas Lake.

Lake water system

Main water sources

The water source of Kanas Lake mainly comes from the glacier melt water of Kuitun peak, Youyi peak and the precipitation of Kanas River Basin, which flows into Kanas Lake from the surface or underground.

Drainage channel

Kanas Lake is located in the birthplace of Kanas river. The main discharge channel of Kanas Lake is Kanas river.

Lake District products

The freshwater fishes used for ornamental purposes in Kanas Lake mainly include Rana altaica, viper, viviparous lizard, rock Thunderbird, common grouse, hucho salmon (< I, commonly known as big redfish < / I), fine scale salmon, COD, channel catfish, Siberian squid bream, etc. The cold water fish used for food mainly include pike, wudaohei, flat flower, xiaobaitiao and so on. Wudaohei (< I scientific name "< / I < I Lateolabrax < / I" < / I) is on the verge of extinction due to large-scale fishing, and is mainly used for raising ornamental fish. Kanas Lake is mainly for tourism, and its cold water is not suitable for a large number of fish culture, so the fish production is very small, and it is often used as gifts.

Governance and development

Environmental governance

In 2012, Xinjiang invested 7 million yuan to prepare the overall plan of ecological environment protection, ecological security investigation and assessment report of Kanas Lake. Xinjiang Academy of environmental protection completed the ecological security assessment and ecological protection implementation plan of Kanas Lake in 2013. In addition, the reclaimed water reuse system, ecological protection isolation belt, two ecological public toilets and 100 household toilets were built.

Development and utilization

Kanas Lake is mainly based on tourism. As of 2015, the developed tourist attractions are as follows:

Tuojing Bay

Tuojing Bay is located one kilometer south of Kanas Lake. It is the water inlet of Kanas Lake and the birthplace of Kanas river. Kanas river forms a big bend like a camel neck here. Kanas river forms a zigzag curve here, turning from southeast to southwest and then to East. The river bends steeply, the valley is deep, and the current is turbulent. At the beginning of the first turning there is a fusiform River bar, and at the second turning there is a rapids. The East Bank of the river is meadow, and the West Bank is virgin forest.

Chameleon Lake

Chameleon lake is located in the middle of Kanas Lake. In spring and summer, the lake will change color with the change of season and weather. From Kaihua in April and may to ice and snow in November every year, the lake water presents different colors in different seasons. In May, ice and snow melt away, and the lake is dark and gray; in June, the lake becomes light green or blue with the plants in Zhoushan mountain; after July, the white water in the upper white lake is replenished in large quantities, from green to milky white; in August, the lake is dark green due to the influence of rainfall; in September and October, the replenishment of the lake is significantly reduced, The surrounding plants are colorful, and a pool of emerald water is dazzling.

Wolong Bay

Wolong Bay is located on the way from Buerjin county to Kanas, 140 km away from the county and 10 km away from Kanas. It is the outlet of Kanas Lake. It covers an area of about 9 hectares. In the center of the bend is a sandbank with luxuriant plants, which looks like a giant dragon lying in the water. Wolong Bay is named after it. The lake is surrounded by dense forests, and the huge stones at the entrance of the lake reach the middle stream. At the outlet of the lake, there is a wooden bridge flying from east to west. Standing on the bridge, Wolong Bay looks like a mirror to the north and Kanas River to the south.

Fish watching station

Guanyutai, 20 yuan round trip per person, is a must visit point in Kanas. It was built in 1987, and only after this reconstruction can it be called guanyutai. Why is it called "fish watching station"