Manasarovar Mapham Yumtso 瑪旁雍錯 |
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July 2006
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Location | Tibet |
Coordinates | 30°39′N 81°27′E / 30.65°N 81.45°ECoordinates: 30°39′N 81°27′E / 30.65°N 81.45°E |
Surface area | 410 km2 (160 sq mi) |
Max. depth | 90 m (300 ft) |
Surface elevation | 4,590 m (15,060 ft) |
Frozen | Winter |
Lake Manasarovar (also Manas Sarovar, Mapam Yumtso; Tibetan: མ་ཕམ་གཡུ་མཚོ།, Wylie: ma pham g.yu mtsho; Chinese: 玛旁雍錯 (simplified), Chinese: 瑪旁雍錯 (traditional)) is a freshwater lake in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China, near Mount Kailash. The lake is revered a sacred place in four religions: Bön, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.
According to legend, Lake Manasasarovara is the lake in which a great Tibetan monk saw the letters "Aha", " Kha", " Mha". These three initials helped the search team to locate the current the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. The three initials stand for the province, the district, and the monastery in which the current Dalai Lama was born, i.e. Ahamdho, Khunbum, and Taktser respectively.
Lake Manasasarovar lies at 4,590 m (15,060 ft) above mean sea level, a relatively high elevation for a large freshwater lake on the mostly saline lake-studded Tibetan Plateau.
Lake Manasasarovar is relatively round in shape with the circumference of 88 km (54.7 mi). Its depth reaches a maximum depth of 90 m (300 ft) and its surface area is 320 km2 (123.6 sq mi). It is connected to nearby Lake Rakshastal by the natural Ganga Chhu channel. Lake Manasasarovar is near the source of the Sutlej, which is the easternmost large tributary of the Sindhu. Nearby are the sources of the Brahmaputra River, the Indus River, and the Ghaghara, an important tributary of the Ganges.