Inland Lake

An inland lake is the water body at the end of an inland river or an inland catchment area that forms the lake itself. Inland lakes in China are mainly located in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang Province, Gansu Province, Qinghai Province and Tibet, such as Qinghai Lake and Lop Nur. Areas of inland lakes are far from the ocean and have dry climates. The replenishment of the lake mainly comes from runoff, but water loss is mainly through evaporation of the lake water. Some lakes have no outflow, and all of the water is evaporated. Some inland lakes have only a limited water supply but intense evaporation, causing them to shrink gradually and eventually become a saltwater lake or salt lake. As a result of drought and increasing water consumption in the upper courses, many inland lakes are shrinking or drying up. Typical examples are Juyanhai Lake and Lop Nur, which have already dried up (Fig. 14).

Fig. 14

Qinghai Lake landscape