Tibet, a rich and beautiful land, is located at the main part of Qinghai-Tibet plateau, south-West frontier of China. Tibet is so sunny that it produces a year-round sunshine of over 3,000 hours in a year. Its old name-"land of snow"-the name by which Tibet is almost popularly known as, is always thickly covered with snow with hardly any signs of inhabitation.

With an average elevation of over 4,000 m, Tibet is considered to be the highest region in the world and is often called the "Roof of the World." This comes as no surprise, especially since southern Tibet is located in the Himalayas, which contains many of the world's highest summits. In addition to its incredible heights, Tibet is also one of the most isolated areas on earth; with most of the people living in elevations ranging from 1200 m to 5100 m. Tibet with its mountains is the source and dividing line of the Asian continent's major rivers, with the Brahmaputra being the most important. Many of the rivers in Tibet can be used for hydroelectricity, but this potential hasn't been developed as of yet.

Physical Features

As part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and also known as the 'Roof of the World', Tibet is an amazing combination of sceneries including mountains, plains, foothills and valleys. With the Kunlun and the Gangdise Mountains being respectively at its northern and southern ends, the land inclines from an average altitude of above 5,000m in the northwest to about 4,000m in the southeast, hence differing landscapes found in the different regions.

Geographically, Tibet can be divided into three major parts:

South and Central Tibet: It is agricultural region, occupying about one-fourth of Tibet's land area with all major Tibetan cities and towns such as Lhasa, Shigatse, Gyantse and Tsetang. The total area of the Tibet Autonomous Region is 1,200,000 square kilometers and its population is 1,890,000. The region is administratively divided into one municipality and six prefectures. The municipality is Lhasa, while the six prefectures are Shigatse, Ngari, Lhaoka, Chamdo, Nakchu and Nyingtri (kongpo). The People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region exercises the high-test administrative authority in Tibet.Mt. Everest soars to a height of some 8844.43m skyward and together with several other mountain ranges with an average altitude of 6,000m, constitutes the Himalayan mountain range as the highest mountainous area in the south of Tibet. With the higher western end of this area being dry and freezing, the eastern region is temperate, humid and densely forested.

Meanwhile, between the Himalayas and the Gangdise, the Yarlung Tsangpo River winds its way through this region leaving a fertile agricultural area of lakes, basins and river valleys along its course.

North Tibet: It is open grassland, where nomads and yak and sheep dwell here. This part occupies approximately half of Tibet. Vast plateaus in the north of Tibet, specifically around the Kunlun Mountain, the Tanggula Mountain and between the Gangdise and the Nyainqentanglha Mountains, cover 2/3 of the total area of Tibet. Dotted with numerous lakes and basins, the plateaus, among which Changtang Plateau is the best known, provide rich animal husbandry products for other parts of Tibet.

East Tibet: It is forest region, occupying approximately one-fourth of the land. Virgin forests run the entire breadth and length of this part of Tibet. The tortuous ways of Nu, Lancang and Jinsha Rivers cut through the majestic Hengduan Mountain range, creating breathtaking landscapes of high mountains and deep canyons. Higher in the north and lower in the south, the mountain and canyon area in the eastern part of Tibet presents a wide diversity of fauna and flora as well as a unique combination of snow-capped peaks and verdant hillside forests.

Mountains in Tibet

The Kunlun, Karakoram, Tanggula, Gangdise, Nyainqentanglha and Himalayas mountain ranges span the Tibet Autonomous Region from east to west, while the Hengduan Mountain range uniquely winds its way from south to north. Among the fourteen mountains in the world that exceed 8,000m, five stand in Tibet. Mt. Everest , the world highest, awesomely reaches 8844.43m and allures more and more visitors to admire it yearly, as well as mountaineering expeditions to conquer its summit. Some other peaks, such as Mt. Kailash , although lower in altitude, are noted for their great significance in religious beliefs of the region and are frequented by many hundreds of dedicated pilgrims.

Rivers and Lakes in Tibet

Rivers in Tibet are not only great in number, but are also recognized as the source of such famous Asian rivers as the Ganges, Mekong and the Indus, etc. The Yarlung Tsangpo River, the fifth longest in China as well as the highest in the world, originates in the Himalayas and flows into India after traveling 2,057 km within China. Rivers of Jinsha, Lancang and Nu, joined by numerous tributaries provide an abundance of hydroelectric energy as well as irrigate the agricultural areas within their floodplains.

The largest lake in Tibet is Namsto , which, with an area of 1,920 sq km makes it the second largest salt-water lake in China, and, at an altitude of 4,718m the highest salt-water lake in the world. Lake Manasarovar shares its fame as being one of the 'Three Holy Lakes in Tibet' with Namsto and Yamdrok Yumtso , is the highest freshwater lake in the world. With over 1,500 lakes dotted around the vast Tibetan plateau, 47 exceed an area of 100 sq km, with the total surface area being approximately 1/3 of that of China's lakes.

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