Data of Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The Yarlung Zangbo River Gorge starts from Daduka Village, Milin County (at an altitude of 2,880 meters) in the north and ends at Pasigat Village, Medog County (at an altitude of 1 15 meters) in the south. The Yarlung Zangbo River Gorge is 504.9 kilometers long, with an average depth of 2,800 meters and the deepest point of 6,009 meters. It is the largest canyon in the world. Glaciers, cliffs, steep slopes, mudslides and huge rivers crisscross the whole canyon area, and the environment is very bad. Many areas have not been set foot in so far, which can be called "the last secret place on earth" and one of the few blank areas in geological work. Yarlung Zangbo River, the largest canyon in the world.

The master plan of the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon National Nature Reserve passed the expert review in April 2000. This indicates that the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon will soon become a national nature reserve. In the Master Plan, relevant experts from Tibet and scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences made a very detailed plan for the protection of animals, plants and geological features of the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon, divided various protected areas and protected species, and formulated perfect protection measures. The planned Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon Nature Reserve has a total area of over 9,600 square kilometers and a population of 1490. The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon not only ranks first in depth and width in the world, but also attracts the attention of scientists all over the world with its rich scientific connotation and valuable resources. The largest precipitation area in the world is located in the northernmost tropical climate zone and natural zone of the Yarlung Zangbo River basin. The ancient endangered species in the world live and multiply in the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon. The richest hydropower resources and rare biological resources in the world are distributed in the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon ... Yarlung Zangbo River.

The Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon has moved the global tropical climate northward by six or five hundred kilometers. It is the region with the largest precipitation in the same latitude in the world and the fastest rising region in the world. On1October 23rd, 2005, 10, the list of the most beautiful places in China was released. The ten most beautiful canyons in China are Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, Tiger Leaping Gorge of Jinsha River, Three Gorges of Yangtze River, Nujiang Grand Canyon, Meili Grand Canyon of Lancang River, Taroko Grand Canyon, Shanxi-Shaanxi Grand Canyon of Yellow River, Jinkou Grand Canyon of Dadu River, Taihang Mountain Grand Canyon and Kuqa Grand Canyon of Tianshan Mountain. In 2009, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China, the centenary of the founding of the Geographical Society of China and the centenary of the founding and development of modern geography in China, * * * jointly launched the "Centennial Discovery of Geography in China" selection activity [1]. Including 1994 Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon proved to be the largest canyon in the world. The Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet is the deepest canyon on earth. There are four rare waterfalls on the canyon riverbed in the no man's land at the core of the Grand Canyon, some of which fall by 30-50 meters. There are nine vertical natural zones in the canyon, from high mountains and snow to low valleys in tropical monsoon forest. Elk has a variety of biological resources, including 2/3 of the known higher plant species in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,12 of the known mammals, 4/5 of the known insects and 3/5 of the known macrofungi in China, ranking the highest in the world.

The Yarlung Zangbo River Gorge starts from Daduka Village, Milin County (at an altitude of 2,880 meters) in the north and ends at Pasigat Village, Medog County (at an altitude of 1 15 meters) in the south. The Yarlung Zangbo River Gorge is 504.9 kilometers long, with an average depth of 5,000 meters and the deepest point of 6,009 meters. It is the largest canyon in the world. Glaciers, cliffs, steep slopes, mudslides and huge rivers crisscross the whole canyon area, and the environment is very bad. Many areas have not been set foot in so far, which can be called "the last secret place on earth" and one of the few blank areas in geological work.

The master plan of the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon National Nature Reserve passed the expert review in April 2000. This indicates that the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon will soon become a national nature reserve. In the Master Plan, relevant experts from Tibet and scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences made a very detailed plan for the protection of animals, plants and geological features of the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon, divided various protected areas and protected species, and formulated perfect protection measures. The planned Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon Nature Reserve has a total area of over 9,600 square kilometers and a population of 1490. The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon not only ranks first in depth and width in the world, but also attracts the attention of scientists all over the world with its rich scientific connotation and valuable resources. The largest precipitation area in the world is located in the northernmost tropical climate zone and natural zone of the Yarlung Zangbo River basin. The ancient endangered species in the world live and multiply in the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon. Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is home to the richest hydropower resources and rare biological resources in the world ... Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon.

general situation

In the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, the river bypassed Nangbawa Peak and made a huge horseshoe-shaped turn, forming a huge canyon. 1994, Chinese scientists conducted a scientific demonstration of the Grand Canyon, and confirmed that this Grand Canyon located on the main stream of the Yarlung Zangbo River is the largest in the world. According to the data released by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, the Grand Canyon starts from Daduka Village in Milin County in the north (2880m above sea level) and ends at Batoca Village in Medog County in the south (115m above sea level), with a total length of 504.6km, the deepest point of 6009m and the average depth of 2268m. It is undoubtedly the largest grand canyon in the world. Once listed as the world's largest Colorado Grand Canyon (1800 meters deep, 440 kilometers long) and Colca Grand Canyon (3,203 meters deep), it is not equal to the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon. Xinhua reported the news to the whole world in time, which caused a sensation all over the world.

name

1In September, 1998, People's Republic of China (PRC) and the State Council officially approved that the scientific name of the Grand Canyon was "Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon", and the Roman alphabet spelled it as Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon.

find

The discovery of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is called one of the most important geographical discoveries of mankind in this century by the scientific community. It was discovered suddenly by several generations of Chinese scientists after long-term efforts. Prior to this, China scientists from various disciplines had visited the region eight times for comprehensive scientific investigation.

19981late October to1early February, the scientific investigation team composed of scientists, journalists and mountaineers lasted more than 40 days and traveled nearly 600 kilometers. It carried out extremely arduous scientific investigation activities in the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon area with dense forests, cliffs and fast-flowing water, and obtained a lot of scientific data.

During more than 40 days of hiking, experts have accurately drawn the depth and valley bottom width of the Grand Canyon and mastered extremely important measurement data. Geology, hydrology, plants, insects, glaciers, landforms, etc. , but also obtained a wealth of scientific data and thousands of specimens, adding new content to the resource treasure house of the Grand Canyon. What is particularly commendable is that this survey not only confirmed the waterfalls on the main stream of the Yarlung Zangbo River and their number and location, but also found a large area of endangered and rare plants-Taxus chinensis, a "living fossil" in the insect family-Echinoptera.

Scientific investigation has confirmed that the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon is a mountainous area with the richest biodiversity in the world, and it is a "natural museum of plant types" and a "genetic treasure house of biological resources". At the same time, the Grand Canyon is located in the northeast corner of the subduction of the Indian Ocean plate and the Eurasian plate, with various geological phenomena, and is called the rare "geological museum".

The Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon has magical charm to the world. The unique environment and abundant natural resources are the precious wealth of our motherland and the precious natural heritage of all mankind.

The master plan of the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon National Nature Reserve passed the expert review in April 2000. This indicates that the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon will soon become a national nature reserve. In the Master Plan, relevant experts from Tibet and scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences made a very detailed plan for the protection of animals, plants and geological features of the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon, divided various protected areas and protected species, and formulated perfect protection measures. The planned Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon Nature Reserve has a total area of over 9,600 square kilometers and a population of 1490. The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon not only ranks first in depth and width in the world, but also attracts the attention of scientists all over the world with its rich scientific connotation and valuable resources. The largest precipitation belt in the world is distributed in the natural zone of the Yarlung Zangbo River and the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon, the northernmost tropical climate zone in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin. The ancient endangered species in the world live and multiply in the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon. The Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon is home to the richest hydropower resources and rare biological resources in the world. ...

geographical environment

Why did the young Qinghai-Tibet Plateau form such a magnificent grand canyon? The direct cause of the formation of the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon is related to the rapid uplift of the crust and deep geological processes in this area in the past 3 million years. Since 654.38+0.5 million years, the uplift speed of the Grand Canyon has reached 30 mm/year, which is one of the fastest areas in the world. The evidence obtained from the latest geological survey shows that the fundamental reason for the formation of the Grand Canyon is the existence of asthenosphere mantle upwelling in this area. The geological characteristics of the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon are basically similar to those of the Colorado Grand Canyon in the United States. Mantle upwelling in the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon may be an important factor for the formation of water vapor channels in the Grand Canyon, or it may be the reason why southeast Tibet, which is centered on this area, has become a so-called "climate start-up area", or it may be an important reason why the zonal distribution of organisms in this area has moved northward by 3 to 5 degrees. The adjustment of lithospheric material and structure characterized by mantle upwelling in the Grand Canyon area obviously restricts the long-term scale of the outer layer of the earth, and it is the most ideal field laboratory to study the coupling effect of the intermediate layer in the earth system.

The combination of peaks, bends and canyons is very rare in the history of world canyon river development, which is a natural wonder in itself. In fact, the Great Bend Canyon is made up of several bends. The Garabaire Peak on the north side of the canyon is also the center of glacier development, and the Liequ Glacier on its east slope is a large valley glacier, extending from the snow line to an altitude of 4,700 meters to an altitude of 2,850 meters.

On the northern slope of the eastern section of Nyainqentanglha Mountain at the entrance of the water vapor passage in the north of the Grand Canyon, there is a Kachin glacier with a length of 33 kilometers. The Laigu Glacier in the upper reaches of Palong Zangbo is 35 kilometers long. The part where they are located is a long valley glacier in China's ocean temperate glaciers. The last part of the glacier extends into the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, with a minimum elevation of about 2,500 meters, forming a unique natural landscape.

cause

In Quaternary, there were many glaciation in the mountains here, leaving a complete U-shaped ancient glacial valley. The dense ice mounds on the valley floor plain are like graves, which are the accumulation relics of ancient glaciers in the specific environment of water vapor passage. On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the world-famous roof, there is a green channel extending southeast along the Yarlung Zangbo River-Yarlung Zangbo River Valley, and the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon is an important part of this green channel. The deep Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is like a green gateway in the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, facing the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, providing a natural passage for warm and humid airflow from the Indian Ocean.

Climatic conditions

This natural water vapor channel makes the warm and humid air flow from the Indian Ocean form the largest precipitation zone in the world in the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with an annual precipitation of 4500-10070 mm; It is this water and gas channel that has accumulated huge hydropower resources in the Grand Canyon. It is this natural water vapor channel that makes the tropical climate zone in the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau move northward by five latitudes. It is this natural water vapor channel that has developed a huge ocean glacier; It is this natural water vapor channel that narrows the obvious difference between the north and south natural belts. 2. It is this natural water vapor channel that drives many thermal drives and plants to move northward. It is this natural water vapor channel that promotes the mixing and communication between the northern and southern creatures in the Himalayas, and it is this natural water vapor channel that provides a safe shelter for many paleontological species from extinction. The water vapor channel of the Yarlung Zangbo River has caused a complete vertical natural belt distribution in the Grand Canyon area, from high to low, from alpine ice and snow to low tropical monsoon rainforest belt, just like from polar to equator or from northeast to Hainan Island.

Special mention should be made of alpine rhododendron, because the alpine shrubs in the Grand Canyon are mainly composed of evergreen rhododendron. There are 154 species of rhododendron in this area, accounting for 26% of the total species of rhododendron in the world (about 60O species). Below the alpine snow line is the alpine shrub meadow belt, then the alpine and subalpine evergreen coniferous forest belt, then the mountain evergreen, semi-evergreen broad-leaved forest belt and evergreen broad-leaved forest belt, and then the monsoon rainforest belt in the low mountain canyon. The monsoon rain forest here is different from the tropical rain forest near the equator. It is a rainforest ecosystem with obvious seasonal changes formed under the conditions of tropical maritime hand winds. This is the most complete and abundant mountain vertical natural belt in the world, and it is also the epitome of global climate change.

Yarlung Zangbo River is the largest river in Tibet, ranking fifth in the country, but its hydraulic resources are second only to Changting, ranking second in the country, and its hydropower reserves per unit area rank first in the world.

rare plant

The Grand Canyon is the richest place in Xizang Autonomous Region. There are more than 3,500 species of vascular plants in the region, including no less than 1000 species of economic plants with utilization value, which can be divided into medicinal plants, oil plants and fiber plants.

rare animal

The dense forests and alpine scrub meadows in the Grand Canyon area are the homes of various animals, many of which are rare animals under special state protection. Such as fur animals, otters, minks, clouded leopards, snow leopards, silkworms, ferrets, leopard cats, red pandas, etc. Medicinal animals: musk deer, black bear, pangolin, flying squirrel, snake, silver ring snake, king cobra; Medical animal macaque; Ornamental animals: langur, brown-necked hornbill, red-breasted pheasant, red-bellied horn, pottery parrot, big-breasted parrot, blue-throated sunbird, fire-tailed sunbird, red-billed lovebird, golden pheasant, A?vagho?a in Tibet, black-necked crane, python and antelope. Many of them are on the verge of extinction because of being hunted for a long time.

Environmental characteristics

In the Grand Canyon area, almost all natural areas are occupied by forests except the ice and snow desert and meadow shrubs above the forest line at an altitude of 4200 meters. Daran forest area is vast and rich in forest resources, ranking second in the country, second only to the northeast and southwest.

The Grand Canyon has two basic features: the unique big bend and the largest water vapor channel on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. These two features constitute a rare natural wonder in the world, and are also the most distinctive eco-tourism resources of the factory. Spectacular, peculiar, majestic, beautiful, primitive, natural, clean, unique environment and rich resources are unparalleled. The former is best viewed from the air, especially from the air, where you can see its spectacular panorama and beautiful scenery. The water vapor and heat of the latter bring the complete vertical natural belt, biodiversity, the infinite charm and magical beauty of monsoon ocean temperate glaciers, mountains and lakes, and endless unique and magnificent weather to the eco-tourism in the Grand Canyon area.

Years of research show that the direct cause of the formation of the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon is the rapid uplift of the crust in this area in the past 3 million years, which is related to the deep geological process. Using fission track method, it is found that the uplift speed of the Grand Canyon area has reached 30mm/ year since 6.5438+500,000 years, which is one of the fastest areas in the world. Climate evidence shows that the Grand Canyon area is a "hot spot", and it is inferred that there is a heat source similar to the mantle plume, but there is no direct geological evidence. The recent geological survey has obtained complete petrological and tectonic geological evidence, which shows that the fundamental reason for the formation of the Grand Canyon is the existence of asthenosphere mantle upwelling in this area.

The most significant thing is that a complete rock series composed of ultrabasic alkaline complex-carbonate rocks (Zhong Dalai et al., 1998) intruded along the nearly east-west ductile structural belt near the metamorphic high-pressure granulite terrane and the junction zone between two continents. The intrusive rock is in the shape of rock tube and dike, with a width of 30cm- 12m. The marginal phase of ultrabasic alkaline complex or small-scale rock pipe is amphibole olivine, and the central phase is amphibole phlogopite olivine pyroxenite. The main mineral phases are phlogopite, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, amphibole and spinel, and aragonite, nepheline and olivine can also be found. Strong mantle hydrothermal alteration or metasomatism occurred in the surrounding rocks of carbonate rocks, and crystalline massive carbonate rocks were embedded in the vein center. The main carbonate minerals are aragonite, including nepheline, phlogopite, olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and garnet. It is also found that the previously reported astrophyllite minerals are of great significance to distinguish carbonate igneous rocks. This kind of rock assemblage usually comes from the mantle and is mostly formed in response to asthenosphere upwelling and lithospheric thermal thinning. Igneous carbonate rocks are the product of the late crystallization differentiation of mantle solution, which also shows that the composition and mineral content of carbonate rocks and ultrabasic alkali complexes are transitional. Geologically speaking, their formation time is very young, and the preliminary isotopic chronological results prove that they were formed 5-8 million years ago. The discovery of this rock assemblage provides sufficient petrological evidence for demonstrating that the formation of the Grand Canyon is due to the thermal uplift caused by mantle upwelling in this area. Therefore, the geological characteristics related to the formation of the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon are basically similar to those of the Colorado Grand Canyon in the United States, which is the result of mantle upwelling or mantle hot spots, which caused lithospheric thinning and similar magmatism, and the corresponding rapid crustal uplift formed the Grand Canyon.

Scientific investigation

The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is 504.9 kilometers long, with an average depth of 5,000 meters and the deepest point of 6,009 meters. It is the largest canyon in the world. Glaciers, cliffs, steep slopes, mudslides and huge rivers crisscross the whole canyon area, and the environment is very bad. Many areas have not been set foot in so far, which can be called "the last secret place on earth" and one of the few blank areas in geological work. After the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China implemented the strategic decision of developing the western region, the scientific investigation and resource investigation in the Grand Canyon area were formally put on the agenda. From 65438 to 0999, the geological survey in China was invited to the whole country, which opened the prelude to a large-scale, deep-seated and all-round resource survey in this area. With the good reputation of more than ten years' campaign in Tibet, plateau working experience and rich technical talents, Henan Geological Survey Institute won the first place among many bidders and undertook the regional geochemical survey of the core area of the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon in Tibet1∶ 200,000 Bomi and Medog County Sheet.

Since March 20th, 2000, a scientific research team composed of 38 geologists from Henan Geological Survey Institute went to Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon, carried forward the spirit of "three honors" and "four specialties", overcame many unimaginable difficulties and hardships, and conducted a comprehensive investigation on the grid format of the whole Grand Canyon with a high sense of responsibility and rigorous scientific attitude. They traveled more than 26,000 kilometers, completed an investigation area of 7,938 square kilometers, systematically collected 2 102 geochemical samples, tested and analyzed 42 chemical elements, and obtained 63,252 basic data. For the first time, they obtained the geological data with the highest control density and the highest degree of research in the Grand Canyon. This is the first time in China and even in human history that a national-level scientific investigation has been conducted on the Grand Canyon in a large-scale, deep-level, network format and systematic geological survey.

Through investigation, 98 comprehensive geochemical anomalies have been found, indicating that the Grand Canyon area has great metallogenic potential. According to the geochemical survey results, the exact location of the collision zone between the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate is delineated, and the geological origin of the Grand Canyon is scientifically explained. The eco-geochemical background of the Grand Canyon has been preliminarily identified, which provides a basis for preventing and controlling endemic diseases, promoting social development in ethnic minority areas and making protection and development plans for the Grand Canyon.

Henan geologists have successfully completed their scientific research tasks, and at the same time, they have taken more than 4,000 scenic photos, working photos and dozens of precious video materials of the Grand Canyon, and selected the essence from them to edit and publish a beautiful picture book "Walking into the Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon". The album truly records the life and work scenes of geological expedition members in the Grand Canyon and the unique natural geographical landscape in the Grand Canyon area, and makes an important supplement to the scientific research report in the Grand Canyon area from an artistic point of view with the unique eyes of geological expedition members.

The last secret of mankind

Located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet, the Great Bend Canyon is the largest canyon in the world. The Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon is 5382 meters deep, which is the deepest canyon on the earth. There are four rare waterfalls on the canyon riverbed in the no man's land at the core of the Grand Canyon, some of which fall by 30-50 meters. There are nine vertical natural zones in the canyon, ranging from alpine ice and snow to low-lying tropical intraseasonal rainforests. Elk has gathered a variety of biological resources, including 2/3 of the known higher plant species in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,12 of the known mammals, 4/5 of the known insects and 3/5 of the known macrofungi in China, ranking the highest in the world.