Chaka Salt Lake

Chaka Salt Lake (Chinese: 茶卡盐湖; pinyin: Chákǎ Yánhú; Standard Tibetan: ཚྭ་ཁ་མཚོ་) is a salt lake in Ulan County, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai, China. The oval-shaped lake is located near the eastern end of Qaidam Basin, 298 kilometres (185 mi) to the west of the provincial capital Xining. The name "Chaka" (ཚྭ་ཁ) means "salt lake" in Tibetan.

Chaka Salt Lake
Chaka Salt Lake
LocationUlan County, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China
Coordinates36°41′51″N 99°06′20″E
TypeSalt lake
Basin countriesChina
Max. length15.8 km (9.8 mi)
Max. width9.2 km (5.7 mi)
Surface area105 km2 (41 sq mi)
Surface elevation3,100 m (10,170 ft)
SettlementsChaka, Ulan County

Chaka Lake is a major tourist destination and a key salt mine in Qinghai. In 2018, it received more than 3 million visitors. The lake is famous for its crystal-blue water and reflective lake bed, and is popularly known as "Mirror of the Sky".

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