Maizhokunggar County

Maizhokunggar County 墨竹工卡县 • མལ་གྲོ་གུང་དཀར་རྫོང་།
County
View from Drigung monastery
Location of Maizhokunggar County within Tibet
Coordinates: 29°50′21″N 91°43′47″E / 29.8393°N 91.7298°E / 29.8393; 91.7298Coordinates: 29°50′21″N 91°43′47″E / 29.8393°N 91.7298°E / 29.8393; 91.7298
Country	China
Province	Tibet Autonomous Region
Prefecture	Lhasa
Capital	Kunggar
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+08:00)

Maizhokunggar or Meldro Gungkar is a county east of the main center of Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. It has an area of 5,492 square kilometres (2,120 sq mi) with an average elevation of over 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Most of the people are ethnic Tibetan and are engaged in agriculture or herding. Mining is a major source of tax revenue, but has created environmental problems. The county has various tourist attractions including hot springs and the Drigung Monastery.

Meldro Gungkar means "The Place where Nagaraja Meldro lived" in Tibetan. "Mozhugongka" means a town at the end of the earth. It is a twin city of Nanjing. The county is located on the middle and upper sections of the Lhasa River (or Kyi River) and the west of Mila Mountain. The Gyama Zhungchu, which runs through Gyama Township, is a tributary of the Lhasa River. Mila (or Mira) Mountain, at 5,018 metres (16,463 ft), forms the watershed between the Lhasa River and the Nyang River. The tree line on the north-facing slope of Mt. Mila is at 4,360 metres (14,300 ft).

Mozhugongka is about 68 kilometres (42 mi) east of Lhasa. It has an area of 5,492 square kilometres (2,120 sq mi) with an average elevation of more than 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Carboniferous sediments are found in the Lhunzub district of the Lhasa Terrane and to the south of Jang Co in the north of the terrane, but fossiliferous Lower Carboniferous has been found in the terrane only in the Maizokunggar district. The 600 metres (2,000 ft) stratum is mainly composed of alternating layers of quartose sandstone, slates and suordinate limestones that include the coral Kueichowphyllum sp.

Mozhugongka County is in the semi-arid plateau temperate monsoon climate zone, with cold, dry and thin air, and high winds in winter and spring. The annual average temperature is 5.1 to 9.1 °C (41.2 to 48.4 °F). The highest temperature recorded was about 30 °C (86 °F) in June, but the average highest temperature is 14 to 16.1 °C (57.2 to 61.0 °F). The lowest temperature is −16 to −23 °C (3 to −9 °F) in January. There are about 90 frost-free days each year. Annual rainfall is 515.9 millimetres (20.31 in).