What plateau in the westernmost part of China is located in Xinjiang?

The westernmost tip of China is located in Pamir Plateau of Xinjiang.

Brief introduction of Pamirs:

Pamirs is a plateau located in the southeast of Central Asia and the westernmost part of China. Pamirs, Persian, means flat-topped houses. China was called Green Ridge in ancient times, where the ancient Silk Road passed. Located in the southeast of Central Asia and the westernmost tip of China, it spans Tajikistan, China and Afghanistan. Pamir Plateau is the intersection of Kunlun Mountain, Karakorum Mountain, Hindu Kush Mountain and Tianshan Mountain, which spans the southwest of Xinjiang, the southeast of Tajikistan and the northeast of Afghanistan in China. The area is about 6,543,800 square kilometers.

Pamirs is tall, with an average elevation of more than 4,500 meters, and its main peaks are all over 6,000 meters. The peak of the main peak in western Tajikistan is 7495 meters above sea level, and that of lenin peak is 7 134 meters above sea level. There are significant differences between the East and the West. The absolute height and relative height of SiPamir are very large; The latitudinal and meridional mountains are interlaced with each other, and the terrain is complex, with the characteristics of mountains and plains; The density of river network is high, the cutting depth is deep and the planation plane is seriously damaged. The absolute height of the East Pamirs is small, the relative height is also low, the plateau features are remarkable, and the river valley is wide. There are 1085 glaciers on the plateau, covering an area of 804 1 km2. The longest Fischenko Glacier is 77 kilometers long. There are many glacial lakes here. The largest Lake Kara covers an area of 383 square kilometers and the deepest part is 236 meters.

China's Pamir Plateau is in the east, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture and Kashgar. It is bounded by Muji Valley and Tashkurgan Valley in the east, Kunlun Mountain in the west and Karakorum Mountain in the south. Northwest-southeast in the north and northwest-southwest-southeast in the south. It is 260 kilometers long and 50 ~ 100 kilometers wide, and consists of plateau mountains and alpine basins. The elevation of mountainous areas is generally 5000 ~ 5500 meters, and the elevation of intermountain basins is 3500 ~ 4200 meters, and some areas are reduced to 3200 meters. There are mountain passes such as Hongqilafu and Mingtiegai, which are important passages for the ancient Silk Road to go south to India and west to Afghanistan and Iran. The China-Pakistan highway has passed.

Geographical location of Pamirs:

Pamirs is located in the southeast of Central Asia, at the western end of China, and spans Tajikistan, China and Afghanistan. At present, except for the eastern slope, which is still under the jurisdiction of China, most of it belongs to Tajikistan, and only Waham Pamir belongs to Afghanistan. "Pamir" means "the roof of the world" in Tajik. The plateau is 4000-7700 meters above sea level, with many peaks. As early as the Han Dynasty in China, the Pamirs Plateau was called "Green Ridge", hence its name from its lush wild onions or cliffs. In fact, the Pamirs is not a flat plateau, but consists of several groups of wide valleys and basins between mountains. According to the topographical features, the Pamirs is divided into two parts: the eastern Pamirs is relatively open, consisting of two mountains in the northwest-southeast direction and a group of valleys and lakes, with an absolute height of 5000-6000 meters. The relative height shall not exceed1000 m ~1500 m. The West Pamirs is composed of several roughly parallel alpine valleys in the northeast-southwest direction, with a relatively large topographic difference, characterized by high mountains and deep valleys.

Pamirs is the place where the ancient Silk Road passed. At that time, from the Tarim Basin to the plateau, it was very difficult to go upstream along the canyon on the eastern edge of the plateau, then climb over several mountains on the plateau and cross the mountain pass covered with snow all year round. Nowadays, it is a natural disaster to drive from Kashgar, the largest city in the Tarim Basin, to Tashkurgan on the Pamirs in one day. Along the way, you can see Mount Gong Geer at an altitude of 77 19 meters and Mount Mustag at an altitude of 7546 meters on the eastern edge of the plateau.

Natural features of Pamirs;

1, terrain:

Pamir is a combination of east-west and north-south mountains, mainly east-west mountains. The east-west outer Alai Mountains form the northern skeleton of Pamirs, and then suddenly descend to the Alai Valley in the mountains. The middle of the towering mountain range lies between Tersagar Pass in the west and Kyzylart in the east, with an average elevation of 5,800? 6 100 m (19000? 20,000 feet), the highest point is 7 134 meters (23,406 feet) in lenin peak. Three north-south mountains extend southward from the outer Alai Mountains. Among them, the Akkadmian Nauk Mountain range in the west and Zulumat Mountain in the middle are relatively short, and the Sarekole Mountain in the east constitutes the eastern boundary of the Pamirs. The area east of Sarekuole Ridge is sometimes called Pamirs in China. ?

The north-south mountain range of the Academy of Sciences extends to the northwest of Pamirs, rising like a huge barrier. The highest point of Pamirs, the peak of productism, is 7495 meters (24590 feet). Traditionally, the mountain is divided into east and west areas according to the topography. The eastern part of Pamirs is dominated by the mountainous terrain above the plateau. Although the average altitude is 665,438+000 meters (20,000 feet) or higher, the relative heights of the peaks on the plateau are mostly below 65,438+0000? 1800 m (3300? 5900 feet). The outline of the mountain range is generally circular, and there are flat valleys and valleys between the mountains, located at 3688? 4206 meters (12 100? 13800 feet), or a river with a calm and winding water potential, or a dry waterway, with valleys and slopes covered with layers of loose materials. ?

The topography of the western Pamirs is alternating between high mountains and low mountains, which is very chaotic. The ridge is covered with snow and glaciers. The canyon is deep and narrow, and the river is urgent and dangerous. The valleys and depressions are all gravel, so almost only the alluvial fans in the valleys of the tributaries of the Penchi River are suitable places for human settlement. The transition from East Pamir to West Pamir is gradually unfolding. ?

2. Water supply system:

Just like the neighboring Hindu Kush and Karakorum Mountains in the south, Pamir shows considerable glacier activity due to the high snowfall in winter. Fedchenko glacier is located in the middle of Pamirs, and other glaciers named after Russian scientists in the19th century (such as [〔Garmo〕] and [〔Grumm-Grzhimaylo〕]) supply it with water. Glacier activities in the Alai Mountains and the Outer Alai Mountains are not so extensive. ?

Part of the meltwater from this mountain flows into the Tarim Basin in China, but its main body is injected into the Penchi River and its tributaries. Some large-scale irrigation projects are related to the Vaughn and Surhobe rivers. The Amu Darya River (Guoksus River) is formed by the confluence of Vaughan River and Penchi River, which transports meltwater to other irrigation projects downstream. Seismic activity periodically blocks rivers; Lake Sarez in Murgab Valley was formed by a large-scale landslide blocking the river course. ?

3. Climate:

The climate of Pamirs is a dry continental climate, characterized by cold winter and relatively warm and dry summer. In the western valley, convective storms and gas cyclones often appear together in summer. Many climate patterns in this region are related to the so-called Afghan wind formed in the northwest of Afghanistan, which becomes stronger on the horseshoe-shaped mountains in Pamirs, bringing sandstorms and subsequent summer rainfall to the western mountainous areas. There is a lot of snowfall in the western valley; For example, the village of Sanwal at an altitude of 2134m (7,000ft) is 1 1? The snow in April is as thick as 4 feet. The growing season is as long as 200 days in Sanval, but as long as 230 days in the deep valley of Panchi River in Horogh and Kalehong. At the highest altitude, the snowfall is equivalent to the Karakorum Mountain in the southeast. Glacier activity is quite large. In Murgabu, the towering East Pamirs, the average daily maximum temperature in summer is 23℃(73℉), and the minimum temperature in winter is-17℃( 1℉). In Garm, the western Pamirs, the temperature is 27℃(8 1℉) in summer and -6℃ (2008) in winter. The isolated protruding part of the East Pamirs can reach a low temperature below minus 50 degrees Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit) in winter. ?

4. Plants:

As far as vegetation is concerned, there are obvious similarities between the eastern Pamirs and the treeless western Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Large swamps and highlands dotted with Chenopodiaceae and Ephedra plants are the characteristics of plants in these areas. West Pamir is in sharp contrast. Since the late11930 s, the forced migration of mountain residents has prevented the continuous overgrazing and logging in neighboring mountainous areas (such as Hindu Kush and Karakorum). Since a large number of immigrants, Sabina vulgaris has been regenerated on the valley slope, and bushes have grown on the drier edges, and the erosion has stopped. Willow, thorn bush, oleander, poplar and occasionally birch grow on both sides of the waterway above 198 1 m (6,500 feet). In the high-altitude pasture above 3048 meters (10000 feet), few people graze cattle. ?

5. Animals:

East Pamir is the main breeding ground for goats and argali. Occasionally there are reports about Qingyang and Oriental argali. Highland goats are common in places with the least human activities, and twisted-horned goats live in relatively low mountainous areas between Panchi River and Vaughan River. Brown bears feed on groundhogs, and so do wolves. The relatively strict ban on hunting wild sheep and goats has kept enough food to feed a small number of snow leopards. Bearded vultures and Himalayan vultures often visit the highest peak, and partridges, pheasants and snow chickens can also be seen in the western mountainous areas. A large number of waterfowl migrating between Siberia and South Asia visited East Pamirs.

The geographical significance of Pamir;

China's Pamir Plateau is in the east, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture and Kashgar. It is bounded by Muji Valley and Tashkurgan Valley in the east, Kunlun Mountain in the west and Karakorum Mountain in the south. Northwest-southeast in the north and northwest-southwest-southeast in the south. It is 260 kilometers long and 50- 100 kilometers wide, and consists of plateau mountains and alpine basins. The elevation of mountainous areas is generally 5000-5500 meters, and the elevation of intermountain basins is 3500-4200 meters, and some areas are reduced to 3200 meters. There are mountain passes such as Hongqilafu and Mingtiegai, which are important passages for the ancient Silk Road to go south to India and west to Afghanistan and Iran.

We haven't said enough about this place and its significance to China today. It is said that the borders of most countries in the world were formed only in modern times, but for China, the general direction of the western border was decided more than 2,000 years ago because of this place. Because the Green Ridge is a natural barrier, it is insurmountable. It seems that in most cases, after the forces from the Central Plains of China have arrived here, there is no more power to go over the mountains and continue to the west, and the forces in the western part of Eurasia are also facing such problems. They crossed here and entered the Central Plains of China, Xinjiang and China.

History of Pamirs:

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), namely King Alexander III of Macedonia (Alexander Empire), was born in Pella, the capital of ancient Macedonia, and was a famous strategist and politician in the ancient history of the world. In 334 BC, Alexander went to Asia Minor, giving the Persian army a series of devastating blows and winning. Later, he marched into the east, conquered the whole eastern Iran, advanced into Central Asia, and came near the Pamirs with the surrender of nobles from the eastern provinces of the Persian Empire. But in the face of the continuous snow-capped mountains, he turned south to conquer India. In 327 BC, Alexander left Central Asia, passed through khyber pass (Khyber Mountains, the largest and most important mountain pass in the Hindu Kush between Pakistan and Afghanistan), and invaded India to the south.

The chronology of China history corresponding to the period of Alexander the Great is the Warring States Period (475 BC-22 BC1year). In 323 BC, Alexander died suddenly while preparing for an expedition to the Arabian Peninsula, at the age of 33. This year, Alexander the Great was the country with the largest territory in the world at that time, surpassing the total territory of the seven warring states countries in the east. After Alexander's death, the war of succession initiated by the Ministry continued, and the empire fell into a state of disintegration. An unprecedentedly powerful empire lasted only a short time before it collapsed. In the end, a series of names were left in history, such as Ptolemy Kingdom and Seleucus Kingdom, which struggled until 64 BC and were destroyed by Rome moving eastward. The history of China in this period is from the Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty. The territory of the Western Regions is all small-scale city-state tribes, that is, those small countries called the Western Regions at that time, ranging from more than 70 to more than 30, which is somewhat chaotic. By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, these small city-states and tribes finally hoped for a unified regime. BC 108, the Western Han Dynasty sent troops to attack Loulan and the automobile market. In BC 104, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty let his eldest brother Li Guangli go into battle, and really began to explore the western regions. Although it didn't go well at first, it eventually expanded the empire's power to Dawan (now Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan), which is located at the western foot of Pamir Plateau and the middle and upper reaches of the Syr Darya River, and made it a vassal state of the Han Dynasty. Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty set up an "emissary captain" in the western regions (now Xinjiang and its western regions) to station fields in canal plows and wheel platforms to supply emissaries and ensure the smooth flow of the Silk Road. From this time on, the territory of western China was roughly delineated.

Someone has done such a calculation. Alexander's farthest conquest distance is about 4000 kilometers in a straight line, and his actual journey is more than one Wan Li. The farthest conquest distance of Li Guangli is about 3,000 kilometers in a straight line, and the actual journey is also about Wan Li influenced by harsh terrain such as desert and Pamirs. It is concluded that Li Guangli's expedition is not inferior to that of Alexander the Great. Although the two have not yet been able to compete in the same time and space, the strength of China people on the Pamirs is obviously superior. By 60 BC, the Han Dynasty had established the Western Regions' Capital Protection House in luntai county, northwest of Bayinguoleng, which marked that the Western Regions were formally incorporated into the territory of the Han Dynasty, and the Central Plains Dynasty of China began to exercise sovereignty here.

Learning from the lessons of the Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty managed the Western Regions more comprehensively and effectively. In the northeast, there is an "Anton Capital Protection Government". There are "Anbei" and "Khan" in the north. There are "Anxi" and "Beiting" capital protection offices in the northwest; There are "Baoning" and "Zhinan" zones in the southwest, which are roughly equivalent to the sum of Xinjiang, five Central Asian countries and Afghanistan today. Especially in today's Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Shitou Town was also established in the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, the Tang Empire faced the Arab Empire, and the most famous example was the Battle of Nero. In this campaign, Gao Xianzhi, known as an expert in ancient mountain sports warfare in China, crossed the Green Ridge and came to the borders of neighboring Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Talaz, where he was deadlocked with the Arab army for five days. Although the sudden rebellion of Geluolu and the Arab army led to failure, the influence of the Tang Dynasty in the western regions did not waver.

This is the only time that Anxi Army was defeated in several border conflicts between Arabia and Datang. However, as soon as the war ended, the Arab Abbasid Dynasty (eating black) immediately sent people to make peace with the Tang Dynasty, which continued to expand in Central Asia and gradually withdrew from Central Asia until the An Shi Rebellion broke out. Since then, although Arabs have controlled most of Central Asia, they have never been able to cross the Green Ridge and expand eastward to today's China and Xinjiang. This is the Green Ridge, which historically discouraged the expansion from the west to the east. In addition, the Uighurs and the Khitans also crossed the Green Ridge to establish political power, namely the Karahan Dynasty and the Western Liao Dynasty, which was based on the Karahan Dynasty in military politics and perished under the Mongolian fighters. They once "wandered" in Kashgar (now Kashgar), Samarkand (in Uzbekistan) and Huswoer (in Kyrgyzstan), but they all disappeared in Central Asia because of the green mountains.

After Genghis Khan led the army into Xinjiang, he enfeoffed the conquered place to the second son, Chagatai, and established the Chagatai khanate, one of the four great khanates. /kloc-At the beginning of the 4th century, the Chagatai khanate began to split into two parts. The east includes Kashgar and Turpan; In the west, Samarkand is the center, ruling the area west of Fuling. In this way, the green ridge stands between them. In the Ming Dynasty, the East Chagatai Khanate evolved into the Yerqiang Khanate, and it was not destroyed by the Junggar Khanate in galdan until the early Qing Dynasty. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Xiang army led by Zuo recovered Xinjiang, and the Qing court established Xinjiang Province in 1884, which made Xinjiang's border defense enter a period of "defending the border and securing the defense" and naturally became the base camp of China's westernmost border defense. Its mountain height, with an average elevation of more than 4,500 meters and a main peak of more than 6,000 meters, makes Xinjiang a part of China territory since the Han Dynasty.

Pamirs is not the legend of Zhou Zhishan;

Speaking of Buzhoushan, we have to say Shan Hai Jing, an ancient classic before the chronicle of bamboo books, which records the history and culture of China from the Yanhuang period in the late Neolithic period to the early Zhou Dynasty, including social life, cultural forms and natural geographical environment. The earliest records about the mountains that were not in the Zhou Dynasty came from Shan Hai Jing and Xiye Jing: "Beyond the Northwest Sea, there is a mountain that is not in harmony, named Zhou Zhou." Zhou: It means completely. Mountain: refers to the place above the ground.

Literally, a mountain without hills is incomplete. So since there are incomplete mountains, does that mean there are complete mountains? This is really impossible to verify, and there is no relevant record in Shan Hai Jing. But about "not encircling the mountains", it is mentioned many times in Shan Hai Jing. Although it is an incomplete mountain, it plays an extremely important role: it supports heaven and earth and is called "Tianzhu". Once knocked over, it may lead to the collapse of the sky. Even so, when someone is angry, they are "furious", which has caused extremely serious consequences and created many beautiful myths.

The legend of Buzhoushan:

In the ancient memory of the Chinese nation, this is the ancient battlefield where "Yu attacked the country of * * * *", and it is also the scene where * * * workers and Zhuan Xu fought for the emperor "-they forged an indissoluble bond with * * * workers. In the past, the five limbs of Emperor Pangu were transformed into four poles and five mountains, and the important mountain such as Buzhou Mountain should also be one of them. No, Zhoushan Mountain is the only way to heaven. It's cold all the year round, and it snows all the year round, so ordinary people can't get close at all. However, it is such a mysterious and important mountain that will be broken one day.

Legend has it that the ancient water god of China and Zhuan Xu, the grandson of the Yellow Emperor, fought for the throne. * * * Although the workers are extremely powerful, they are not as resourceful as Zhuan Xu. Finally, it was defeated by Zhuan Xu's Vulcan Zhu Rong. In a rage, * * * workers hit the island because Zhuan Xu was in that direction. Flying rocks collapse clouds, mountains are broken by the middle, the sky collapses in an instant, and the flood is terrible; Vulcan Zhu Rong lost control at the same time. The whole earth is on fire and the whole world is in hot water. This story is also recorded in the Supplement to the Biography of Historical Records and Huang San: "The princes have * * * workers, and all the wise punishments are to be kings; Take water as wood and fight Zhu Rong. I was angry when I was at a loss, but I couldn't touch the landslide, the sky fell and the earth was beautiful. " Thus, there is the myth that the goddess fills the sky: Nu Wa searched everywhere for materials to fill the sky, and finally found colored stones in the fairy mountain on the rooftop of the East China Sea. After melting with the fire of the sun god, the cave was finally repaired and human beings resumed a peaceful life.

Speculation on the location of Buzhoushan:

There is a record in Shan Hai Jing ·Xi· Shan Jing: "It is 370 miles northwest, saying that it is not a mountain." "Wild West Classic" also mentioned: "Northwest overseas, a corner of the wild, there are mountains that are not harmonious, which is bad." Then, in today's vast areas of China, is there really a mountain similar to the "Buzhoushan" landform or related ancient cultural relics? Unfortunately, Shan Hai Jing not only has no map, but also has many defects in its content, so the location of Zhoushan can only be guessed.

First of all, from the location of Buzhoushan, many scholars believe that it is located in the northwest; Secondly, the mountain shape is "there are mountains but not fit" and "the mountain shape is lacking", which has certain appearance characteristics; In addition, because the mountain is Tianzhu, it must be very towering and steep. As a result, in the vast rivers and mountains of China, the seekers found many places that seemed not to be surrounded by mountains. Unfortunately, there is no definite evidence that a place is not surrounded by mountains. But one of the most common sayings is that the Pamirs are not hills. Because the geographical location of Pamir is really close to the location of Buzhou Mountain in historical records, and Pamir means "pillar of the world" in Persian.

In addition, Helan mountain range is also considered as an underdeveloped mountain range, because it is more in line with the description of "there are mountains that are not harmonious, so it is called underdeveloped" in Shan Hai Jing. In addition, there are many rock paintings in the valley that can't be verified in time, and the peculiar composition is very consistent with the rare birds and animals in the mountains described in Shan Hai Jing. In addition, there are some similarities between Zhupi Mountain in Inner Mongolia, Xishan Mountain in Shanxi and Liupanshan Mountain. Some scholars even think that the location of Buzhoushan Mountain should not be confined to China. In short, for thousands of years, scholars of all ages have different opinions on the location of this mountain, and people have never stopped looking for it. However, it has been looming in the clouds of thousands of years of history, becoming a myth and making people listen to it!