The Tanggula (Chinese:, p Tánggǔlāshān, or 唐古拉山脉, p Tánggǔlāshānmài), Tangla, Tanglha, or Dangla Mountains (Tibetan: གདང་ལ་།, w Gdang La, z Dang La) is a mountain range in the central part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in Tibet. Administratively, the range is in the Nagqu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region, with the central section extending into the Tanggula Town and the eastern section entering the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai province. Tanggula is the source of the Ulan Moron and Dangqu Rivers, the geographic headwaters of the Yangtze River. It functions as a dividing range between the basin of the Yangtze in the north and the endorheic basin of northeastern Tibet in the south.

Overview

The elevations of the main ridge average over 5000 m. The Yangtze River originates in this mountain range; Geladandong, 6621 m high, located in Tanggula Town, is the tallest peak in the range. The Qinghai-Tibet Highway and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway cross the Tanggula Mountains at Tanggula Mountain Pass. This is the highest point of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, and the highest point of any railway in the world, at 5,072 m above sea level. On account of snow and occasional road accidents, highway closures and concomitant traffic delays are not uncommon. The mountains lie within the Tibetan Plateau alpine shrub and meadows ecoregion.