Mǎzōngshān

The Mazong Mountains form part of the arid northern ranges beyond the Hexi Corridor. Low dark hills and gravel plains alternate with higher ridges, their snow streaks resembling a horse's mane and giving the mountains their name. This cold desert country extends north toward the Mongolian frontier and west toward the depression of Lop Nur. Between the ridges lie bare expanses and scattered springs, a very different landscape from the irrigated oases south of the range.