Lake Qinghai
Lake Qinghai, holy to ethnic Tibetans, is shrinking, hit by declining rainfall and desertification partly caused by overgrazing and complications from global warming.
Over the past thirty years, water levels have dropped almost thirteen feet and an area of about 130 sq. miles has been turned into dry land.
Perched about 10,000 feet above sea level, the salt water lake is more than 60 miles long, but the number of rivers feeding it has halved in the past 50 years and salinity has risen markedly.
May 19, 2006 6:31 AM | Category: Drought