Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tsangpo Gorge, in center is Mount Namcha Barwa

The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon or Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon (Chinese:
; pinyin: Ylzngb Dxig) or simply the Tsangpo Canyon or Tsangpo Gorge, along
the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, China, is regarded by some as the deepest canyon in the world,
and at 504.6 km (314 miles) is slightly longer than the Grand Canyon in the United States, making it
one of the world's largest. The Yarlung Tsangpo (Tibetan name for the upper course of
the Brahmaputra) originates near Mount Kailash and runs east for about 1700 km, draining a
northern section of the Himalayas before it enters the gorge near downstream of Pei, Tibet near the
settlement of Zhibe. The canyon has a length of about 150 miles (240 km) as the gorge bends
around Mount Namcha Barwa (7782 m) and cuts its way through the eastern Himalayan range. Its
waters drop from about 2,900 m near Pei to about 1,500 m at the end of the Upper Gorge where the
Po Tsangpo River enters. The river continues through the Lower Gorge to the Indian border at an
elevation of 660 m. The river then enters Arunachal Pradesh and eventually becomes
the Brahmaputra.
[1]

[2][3]

Contents
[hide]

1 Canyon depth

2 Ecosystem

3 The Everest of Rivers

4 Yarlung Tsangpo Hydroelectric and Water Diversion Project

5 See also

6 References

7 Books

8 Videos

9 External links

Canyon depth[edit]
As the canyon passes between the peaks of the Namcha Barwa (Namjabarwa) and Gyala
Peri mountains, it reaches an average depth of about 16,000 feet (5,000 m) around Namcha Barwa.
The canyon's average depth overall is about 7,440 feet (2,268 m), the deepest depth reaches
19,714 feet (6,009 m). This is one of the deepest canyons on Earth. This part of the canyon is
at 29.769742N 94.989853E. Namcha Barwa, 25,531 feet (7782m) high, is
at 293733N 950326E, and Gyala Peri, at 23,733 feet(7234m), is at 294848N 945802E.
[4]

Ecosystem[edit]
The gorge has a unique ecosystem with species of animals and plants barely explored and affected
by human influence. Its climate ranges from subtropical to Arctic. The highest temperature in Tibet is
43.6 C (110.5 F) and is recorded near the border of India at an elevation of approximately 600
meters above sea level. The rare takin is one of the animals hunted by the local tribes.

The Everest of Rivers[edit]

The Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon is located at the great bend of the river before entering the Indian Sate of Arunachal Pradesh

Western interest in the Tsangpo began in the 19th century when British explorers and geographers
speculated where Tibet's east-flowing Tsangpo ended up, suspecting the Brahmaputra. Since British
citizens were not allowed to enter Tibet they recruited Indian pundits to do the
footwork. Kinthup from Sikkim entered the gorge near Gyala, but it proved to be impenetrable. In
1880 Kinthup was sent back to test the Brahmaputra theory by releasing 500 specially marked logs
into the river at a prearranged time. His British boss Captain Henry Harman posted men on the
Dihang-Brahmaputra to watch for their arrival. However, Kinthup was sold into slavery, escaped, and
ended up employed at a monastery. On three leaves of absence he managed to craft the logs, send
a letter from Lhasa with his new intended schedule, and send off the logs. Four years had passed.
Unfortunately his note to alert the British got misdirected, his boss had left India, and nobody
checked for the appearance of the logs.
[5]

In 1913, Frederick Marshman Bailey and Henry Morshead launched an expedition into the gorge
that finally confirmed that the Tsangpo was indeed the upper Brahmaputra. Frank KingdonWard started an expedition in 1924 in hopes of finding a major waterfall explaining the difference in
altitude between the Tsangpo and the Brahmaputra. It turned out that the gorge has a series of
relatively steep sections. Among them was a waterfall he named Rainbow Falls, not as big as he
had hoped.

The area was closed after China invaded Tibet and disputed the location of the border in the SinoIndian War. The Chinese government resumed issuing permits in the 1990s. Since then the gorge
has also been visited by kayakers. It has been called the Everest of Rivers because of the extreme
conditions. The first attempt was made in 1993 by a Japanese group who lost one member on the
river. In October 1998 an expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society attempted to
kayak the entire gorge. Troubled by unanticipated high water levels, it ended in tragedy when Doug
Gordon was lost. In JanuaryFebruary 2002 an international group with Scott Lindgren, Steve
Fisher, Mike Abbott, Allan Ellard, Dustin Knapp, and Johnnie and Willie Kern completed the first full
descent of the upper Tsangpo gorge section.
[6]

[7]

[8][9]

The largest waterfalls of the gorge (near Tsangpo Badong, Chinese: ) were visited
in 1998, by a team consisting of Ken Storm, Hamid Sarder, Ian Baker and their Monpa guides.
They estimated the height of the falls to be about 108 feet (33 m). The falls and rest of the Pemako
area are sacred to Tibetan Buddhists who had concealed them from outsiders including the Chinese
authorities. In 2005 Chinese National Geography named them China's most beautiful waterfalls.
The gorges may have helped inspire the idea of Shangri-La in James Hilton's book Lost Horizon in
1933.
[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

There are two waterfalls in this section: Rainbow Falls (about 70 feet high) at 29.777164N
95.183406E and Hidden Falls just downstream at29.776023N 95.181974E (about 100 feet high).

[4]

[14]

Yarlung Tsangpo Hydroelectric and Water Diversion Project[edit]

While the government of the PRC has declared the establishment of a "Yarlung Tsangpo Grand
Canyon National Reservation", there have also been governmental plans and feasibility studies for a
major dam to harness hydroelectric power and divert water to other areas in China. The size of the
dam in the Tsongpo gorge would exceed that of Three Gorges Dam as it is anticipated that such a
plant would generate 40,000 megawatts electricity, more than twice the output of Three Gorges. It is
feared that there will be displacement of local populations, destruction of ecosystems, and an impact
for downstream people in India andBangladesh. The project is criticized by India because of its
potential negative impact upon the residents downstream.
[15]

[16]

However, another type of dam, the inflatable, is possible that would obviate any necessity for a huge
concrete structure. R.B. Cathcart, in 1999, first suggested a fabric daminflatable with freshwater or
aircould block the Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon upstream of Namcha Barwa. Water would then be
conveyed via a hardrock tunnel to a point downstream from that mountain, affording the generation
of tens of thousands of megawattspower which would have to be distributed internationally and
equitably through a Himalayan power grid.
[17]

Steel dam is more advantageous and economical in this high altitude and remote hilly terrain for
diverting the run off water of the river to power generating units.
[18][19]