| Kanas Lake | |
|---|---|
| 喀纳斯湖 (Chinese) | |
 | |
  Kanas Lake | |
| Location | Xinjiang,China |
| Coordinates | 48°48′54″N87°02′24″E / 48.81500°N 87.04000°E /48.81500; 87.04000 |
| Primary outflows | Kanas River |
| Basin countries | China |
| Surface area | 45.73 km2 (17.66 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 120 m (390 ft) |
| Max. depth | 188.5 m (618 ft) |
| Water volume | 5.49 km3 (1.32 cu mi) |
| Surface elevation | 1,340 m (4,400 ft) |
Kanas Lake (Chinese:喀纳斯湖;pinyin:Kānàsī Hú,Xiao'erjing: كَانَاسِ خٗ;Mongolian: Ханас нуур;Uyghur:قاناس كۆلى,romanized: Qanas köli,UYY:Ⱪanas köli,USY:Қанас Көли) is a lake inAltay Prefecture,Xinjiang,China. The lake is located in a valley in theAltai Mountains, near the very northern tip ofXinjiang and the autonomous region's borders with Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The lake was formed around 200,000 years ago during theQuaternary period as a result of glacier movement. The crescent moon shaped lake has an estimated water storage capacity of 53.8 billion cubic meters, coupled with an average depth of around 120 meters.[1]
TheKanas River, flowing out of the lake, later merges with the Hemu River to form the Burqin River, which itself discharges into theIrtysh River at Burqin Town, the county seat ofBurqin County.
There is a large population of ethnicTuvans andKazakhs in the Kanas valley. While most of these people have maintained their traditionalagricultural andnomadic life styles, many work in the developing tourism industry and have established facilities fororienteering,hiking,rafting,rock climbing,paragliding andcamping.[2][3] Thescenic spot is classified as aAAAAA scenic area by theChina National Tourism Administration.[4]
For several centuries there have been sightings of large lake creatures in the waters. First efforts in research of these legends were done by Yuan Guoying ofXinjiang University, who observed fish of enormous size in 1985. He and his students assessed that the fish could be 10 – 15 m long and weigh more than 4 tons, with total population in excess of 50 individuals.
Frequency of observation has increased in the 21st century, with the development of mass tourism. A video was taken and shown in the local Chinese media where numerous unidentifiable creatures can be seen.[5] According toCCTV-10, the creatures living in the lake are speculated by Chinese scholars to be giantHucho taimen.[6]
Media related toLake Kanas at Wikimedia Commons
