Tanggu La | |
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Chinese: 唐古拉山口 Tánggǔlā Shānkǒu |
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Tanggu La marker on Qinghai–Tibet Highway,
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Elevation | 5,072 meters (railway) 5,231 meters (road) |
Location | Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province, China |
Range | Tanggula Mountains |
The Tanggu La, Tangla Pass, or Tanggu Pass (Chinese: 唐古拉山口; pinyin: Tánggǔlā Shānkǒu) is a wide mountain pass over 5000 metres elevation in China used by the Qinghai–Tibet Highway and Qinghai–Tibet Railway to cross the Tanggula Mountains. These mountains form part of the watershed separating the Yangtze River to the north and a zone of endorheic basins with internal drainage to the south. They also separate Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province.
The Qinghai–Tibet Highway reaches its highest elevation, 5,231 metres (17,162 feet) in Tanggu Pass at 32°52′24″N 91°55′03″E / 32.87333°N 91.91750°E. On August 24, 2005, rail track for the Qinghai–Tibet Railway was completed 28 kilometres to the WNW of the highway, reaching 5072 meters (16,640 feet) at 33°00′38″N 91°39′51″E / 33.01056°N 91.66417°E. Tanggula Railway Station 1 km from this summit is—at 5,068 metres—the world's highest, 255 m higher than Ticlio, Peru.