<mapframe text ="Siling Lake" width =240 height =180 zoom =8 latitude =31.833333 longitude =89 /> Siling Lake, (also known as Qilin or Selincuo) is a salt lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China to the north of Xainza. Doijiang is located near the lake. Administratively it belongs to Xainza County and Baingoin County of the Nagqu. Bangecuo is another nearby salt lake located east of Siling Lake, around four miles away.

Overview

The lake lies at an altitude of 4530 m. It is a salt lake. It is fed by the rivers Za'gya Zangbo (or Tsagya Tsangpo) (扎加藏布) and the Boques Tsangpo (波曲藏布). With an area of 1865 sqkm, Siling Co is the second largest saltwater lake in the northern Tibetan Plateau and forms part of the Siling Co National Nature Reserve (also Selincuo Reserve or Xainza Nature Reserve). The 400,000 ha reserve was established in 1993 and contains significant populations of black-necked cranes and some 120 species of birds in total. The lake only has a single species of fish, Gymnocypris selincuoensis, exploited by fishermen. The prairie on the banks of the lake is traditionally used as grazing land for yaks and sheep. The temperature at the lake is an annual average of -3 to -0.6 °C, the maximum annual temperature 9.4 °C. The average rainfall is 290 mm per year, 90 percent of which falls in the months of June to September, often in the summer as hail.

Climate