TheYarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, also known as theYarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, theTsangpo Canyon, theBrahmaputra Canyon or theTsangpo Gorge (simplified Chinese:雅鲁藏布大峡谷;traditional Chinese:雅魯藏布大峽谷;pinyin:Yǎlǔzàngbù Dàxiágǔ), is acanyon along theYarlung Tsangpo River inTibet Autonomous Region,China. It is the deepest canyon in the world,[1][a] and at 504.6 kilometres (313.5 mi) is slightly longer than theGrand Canyon in the United States, making it one of the world's largest.[1][3] The Yarlung Tsangpo (Tibetan name for the upper course of theBrahmaputra) originates nearMount Kailash and runs east for about 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi), draining a northern section of theHimalayas before it enters the gorge just downstream ofPei, Tibet, near the settlement of Zhibe. The canyon has a length of about 240 kilometres (150 mi) as the gorge bends around MountNamcha Barwa (7,782 metres or 25,531 feet) and cuts its way through the eastern Himalayas. Its waters drop from about 2,900 metres (9,500 ft) near Pei to about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) at the end of the Upper Gorge where the Po Tsangpo River enters. The river continues through the Lower Gorge to the Indian border at an elevation of 660 metres (2,170 ft). The river then entersArunachal Pradesh and eventually becomes the Brahmaputra.[4][5]
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As the canyon passes between the peaks of theNamcha Barwa (Namjabarwa) andGyala Peri mountains, it reaches an average depth of about 5,000 m (16,000 feet) around Namcha Barwa. The canyon's average depthoverall is about 2,268 m (7,440 feet), the deepest depth reaches 6,009 m (19,714 feet). This is the greatest canyon depth on land.[citation needed] This part of the canyon is at29°46′11″N94°59′23″E / 29.769742°N 94.989853°E /29.769742; 94.989853 (Tsangpo Canyon, 16,000 feet deep). Namcha Barwa, 7,782 m (25,531 feet) high, is at29°37′33″N95°03′26″E / 29.62583°N 95.05722°E /29.62583; 95.05722 (Namjabarwa), and Gyala Peri, at 7,234 m (23,733 feet), is at29°48′48″N94°58′02″E / 29.81333°N 94.96722°E /29.81333; 94.96722 (Gyala Peri).[6]
The gorge has a uniqueecosystem with species of animals and plants barely explored and affected by human influence. Its climate ranges from subtropical to Arctic, and it has several different vegetation zones:Lowland tropical forests, including thetropical rainforest andseasonal tropical forests;tropical montane and subtropical broad-leaved forest; subalpinetemperate coniferous forest; subalpinecool coniferous forest; alpineshrubland andtundra. The highest temperature in Tibet is 43.6 °C (110.5 °F) and is recorded near the border of India at about 600 metres (2,000 ft) above sea level. The raretakin is one of the animals hunted by the local tribes.
The canyon is home of aSouth Tibetan cypress (Cupressus austrotibetica) that is 102.3 metres (336 ft) tall and, upon its discovery in 2023, is believed to bethe tallest tree in Asia.[7][8]
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Western interest in the Tsangpo began in the 19th century when British explorers and geographers speculated where Tibet's east-flowing Tsangpo ended up, suspecting the Brahmaputra. Since British citizens were not allowed to enter Tibet they recruited Indian "pundits" to do the footwork.Kinthup from Sikkim entered the gorge near Gyala, but it proved to be impenetrable. In 1880 Kinthup was sent back to test the Brahmaputra theory by releasing 500 specially marked logs into the river at a prearranged time. His British boss Captain Henry Harman posted men on the Dihang-Brahmaputra to watch for their arrival. However, Kinthup was sold into slavery, escaped, and ended up employed at a monastery. On three leaves of absence he managed to craft the logs, send a letter from Lhasa with his new intended schedule, and send off the logs. Four years had passed. Unfortunately his note to alert the British got misdirected, his boss had left India, and nobody checked for the appearance of the logs.[9]
In 1913,Frederick Marshman Bailey andHenry Morshead launched anexpedition into the gorge that finally confirmed that the Tsangpo was indeed the upper Brahmaputra.Frank Kingdon-Ward started an expedition in 1924 in hopes of finding a major waterfall explaining the difference in altitude between the Tsangpo and the Brahmaputra. It turned out that the gorge has a series of relatively steep sections. Among them was a waterfall he named "Rainbow Falls", not as big as he had hoped.
The area was closed after China invaded Tibet and disputed the location of theborder in theSino-Indian War. TheChinese government resumed issuing permits in the 1990s. Since then the gorge has also been visited bykayakers. It has been called the "Everest of Rivers" because of the extreme conditions.[10] The first attempt was made in 1993 by a Japanese group who lost one member on the river. In October 1998 an expedition sponsored by theNational Geographic Society attempted to kayak the entire gorge. Troubled by unanticipated high water levels, it ended in tragedy whenDoug Gordon was lost.[11] In January–February 2002 an international group with Scott Lindgren, Steve Fisher, Mike Abbott, Allan Ellard, Dustin Knapp, and Johnnie and Willie Kern completed the first full descent of the upper Tsangpo gorge section.[12][13]
The largest waterfalls of the gorge (near Tsangpo Badong,Chinese:藏布巴东瀑布群[14]) were visited in 1998, by a team consisting of Ken Storm, Hamid Sarder, Ian Baker and their Monpa guides.[15] They estimated the height of the falls to be about 33 metres (108 ft). The falls and rest of the Pemako area are sacred to Tibetan Buddhists who had concealed them from outsiders including the Chinese authorities.[16] In 2005Chinese National Geography named them China's most beautiful waterfalls.
There are two waterfalls in this section: Rainbow Falls (about 21 metres or 70 feet high) at29°46′38″N95°11′00″E / 29.777164°N 95.183406°E /29.777164; 95.183406 (Rainbow Falls) and Hidden Falls just downstream at29°46′34″N95°10′55″E / 29.776023°N 95.181974°E /29.776023; 95.181974 (Hidden Falls) (about 30 metres or 100 feet high).[6][17]
While the government of thePRC has declared the establishment of a "Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon National Reservation", there have also been governmental plans and feasibility studies for theMedog Project, a major dam to harnesshydroelectric power and divert water to other areas in China.[citation needed] The size of the dam in the Tsongpo gorge would exceed that ofThree Gorges Dam as it is anticipated that such a plant would generate 50,000 megawatts[18] of electricity, more than twice the output of Three Gorges. It is feared that there will be displacement of local populations, destruction of ecosystems, and an impact for downstream people inIndia andBangladesh.[19] The project is criticized by India because of its potential negative impact upon the residents downstream.[20]
In 1999, R.B. Cathcart suggested that a fabric dam—inflatable with freshwater or air—could block the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon upstream of Namcha Barwa. Water would then be conveyed via a hard rock tunnel to a point downstream from that mountain.[21]
Steel dams are more advantageous and economical in remote hilly terrain at high altitude for diverting the run off water of the river to power generating units.[22]
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