Gonghe County topographic map

Average elevation: 14,003 ft

Orographically, the Qaidam Basin is a comparatively low area in the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. With an elevation of around 3,000 m (10,000 ft), Qaidam forms a kind of shelf between Tibet to the south (around 4,300 m or 14,000 ft) and Gansu to the north (around 1,100 m or 3,500 ft). A low water…

Average elevation: 8,996 ft

Average elevation: 9,236 ft

The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and was a stronghold of the Han, Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties' resistance against nomadic attacks from the west. Although long a part of Gansu province, Xining was added to Qinghai in 1928. Xining holds sites of…

Average elevation: 8,219 ft

Average elevation: 10,988 ft

Average elevation: 12,333 ft

Average elevation: 12,333 ft

Average elevation: 12,333 ft

Average elevation: 9,390 ft

Average elevation: 11,460 ft

Average elevation: 9,810 ft

Average elevation: 10,348 ft

Average elevation: 15,561 ft

Average elevation: 14,360 ft

Average elevation: 9,439 ft

Average elevation: 11,699 ft

Average elevation: 8,829 ft

Average elevation: 13,937 ft

The lay of the land of the prefecture is largely determined by the Amne Machin mountain range (max elevation 6,282 m), which runs in the general northwest- to-southeast direction across the entire prefecture, and beyond. The existence of the ridge results in one of the great bends of the Yellow River, which…

Average elevation: 14,239 ft

Average elevation: 14,003 ft

Average elevation: 12,881 ft

The lay of the land of the prefecture is largely determined by the Amne Machin mountain range (max elevation 6,282 m), which runs in the general northwest- to-southeast direction across the entire prefecture, and beyond. The existence of the ridge results in one of the great bends of the Yellow River, which…

Average elevation: 13,455 ft

Average elevation: 13,576 ft

Average elevation: 11,155 ft

Average elevation: 7,402 ft