Dagzê Lake

Dagze Lake is a broad brackish lake in Xainza County, within Nagqu on the Tibetan Plateau. It covers about 260 square kilometres and lies near 4,460 metres above sea level. Its exposed basin, thin air and sharp seasonal temperature swings give the shoreline a spare, changeable appearance.

The basin preserves traces of a wetter climate. During the early and middle Holocene, greater moisture raised the lake above its present level and at one stage allowed it to overflow westward into lower basins. As conditions became drier, Dagze contracted. Fifteen older shorelines remain around the eastern and southern margins, including a highest line some forty metres above the current water.

The basin sits within the high pastoral country of Changtang, where winter ice and summer melt feed scattered grassland and springs. The lake adds an important layer to the Changtang's pastoral landscape. Its brackish water and salt flat differ from the grazing grounds used by herders, but its hydrology, surrounding vegetation and shifting shore belong to the same high-altitude environment. The old shorelines make the basin a natural record of how moisture, evaporation and grazing country have changed across the plateau. The basin remains strongly seasonal across the year.