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Tibetan Plateau
青藏高原 (Qīng–Zàng Gāoyuán, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau)
Himalaya composite.jpg
The Tibetan Plateau lies between the Himalayan range to the south and the Taklamakan Desert to the north.
Dimensions
Length2,500 km (1,600 mi)
Width1,000 km (620 mi)
Area2,500,000 km2 (970,000 sq mi)
Geography
Tibet and surrounding areas topographic map.png
Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas above 1600 m
Location China (Tibet, Qinghai, Western Sichuan, Northern Yunnan)  India (Ladakh, Lahaul & Spiti)  Pakistan (Gilgit Baltistan)    Nepal (Northern Nepal)
Range coordinates33°N 88°ECoordinates: 33°N 88°E

The Tibetan Plateau (Tibetan: བོད་ས་མཐོ།, Wylie: bod sa mtho), also known in China as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau (Chinese: 青藏高原; pinyin: Qīng–Zàng Gāoyuán) or Himalayan Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau in Central Asia and East Asia, covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai in western China, as well as Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) and Lahaul & Spiti (Himachal Pradesh) in India. It stretches approximately 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) north to south and 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) east to west. With an average elevation exceeding 4,500 metres (14,800 ft), the Tibetan Plateau is sometimes called "the Roof of the World" because it stands over 3 miles (4.8 km) above sea level and is surrounded by imposing mountain ranges that harbor the world's two highest summits, Mount Everest and K2, and is the world's highest and largest plateau, with an area of 2,500,000 square kilometres (970,000 sq mi) (about five times the size of Metropolitan France). Sometimes termed the Third Pole, the Tibetan Plateau contains the headwaters of the drainage basins of most of the streams in surrounding regions. Its tens of thousands of glaciers and other geographical and ecological features serve as a "water tower" storing water and maintaining flow. The impact of global warming on the Tibetan Plateau is of intense scientific interest.

Description