China's Tibet to Find the World Third Grand Canyon

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, April 27, 2002

China's Tibet to Find the World Third Grand Canyon

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World's Third Biggest Canyon in Tibet

Through years of scientific study and survey, it is as revealed for the first time by Chinese scientists a few days ago that the Parlong Zangbo Grand Canyon in Tibet is one of the three big canyons in the world.

With its depth reaching around 3550 meters it should be ranked at the third place of the world big canyons.

As read from an thesis completed by Zhang Wenjing, researcher of Chengdu Institute of Mountainous Calamities and Yang Yitao, researcher of Geographical Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Science to be published soon the Parlung Zangbo Canyon can at least be put in the third place of the world canyons next only to the Kali Gangdak Grand Canyon (4403 meters) in Nepal so far as its depth is concerned. It is deeper than the Colca Grand Canyon (3200 meters) in Peru and the Colorado Grand Canyon (2133 meters) in the United States.

The Parlung Zangbo in the Lhunze County in the east of Tibet is mainly formed of two tributaries, which, converging into one somewhere in between the Menzhong Village and Zaqu River, plunges itself into the Yarlungzangbo Grand Canyon, No.1 canyon in the world. The river-reach here is one of the three virgin forests in China, an important part of forest areas in southeast Tibet and also the largest distribution area of monsoon-oceanic glacier in China.

The two scientists, resorting to the universal calculation, used the Garlabaile Peak (7234 meters above sea level) at the upper reaches of the Parlung Zangbo River and the Rear Zaqu Mountain (5307 meters above sea level) as sectional drawing of the river. And in addition to this two other sections were made at the outlet of Lake Yigong in the middle and upper reaches of the Parlung Zangbo River and the outlet of a dammed lake in Guxiang Township by glacier landslides. They came to a conclusion that the three cross-river sections are respectively of a depth of 4001, 3397 and 3271 meters.

Starting from the water-head at the outlet of Lake Yigong, the total length of the Parlung Zangbo Canyon is 50 kilometers. However, if counting in that part from the outlet of the glacier-slides dammed Lake at Guxiang the Parlung Zangbo Canyon has a stretch of 76 kilometers all told.

By PD Online Staff Han Rongliang

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