Knowra Kunlun Mountains Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun Mountains are a major mountain system in western China, extending along the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. They form a long divide between the plateau and the Tarim Basin.
Tibetan Plateau : A vast, high-elevation region of Central Asia, mostly within China, bordered by major mountain systems. The Kunlun Mountains form much of its northern margin.
India–Asia collision : The ongoing convergence of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates that began tens of millions of years ago. This collision drives crustal deformation across the Tibetan Plateau and Kunlun region.
Kunlun Pass : A high mountain pass on the Qinghai–Tibet Highway in the Kunlun Mountains. It provides a transport crossing through this otherwise formidable range.
Yuzhu Peak : A 6,178-meter peak in the eastern Kunlun Mountains of Qinghai, China. It is a prominent and relatively accessible high summit in the range.
Tarim Basin : An arid endorheic basin in Xinjiang, China, containing the Taklamakan Desert. This basin lies immediately north of the Kunlun Mountains.
Kunlun Fault : A major left-lateral strike-slip fault running east–west across the northern Tibetan Plateau. Its movement accommodates part of the plateau's eastward expansion.
Kunlun Mountains National Nature Reserve : A protected area in Qinghai, China, covering high-altitude habitats in the Kunlun Mountains. It safeguards wildlife and ecosystems within the mountain system.
Ulugh Muztagh : A remote mountain massif in the western Kunlun Mountains, on the Xinjiang–Tibet border. Its extreme isolation and great elevation exemplify the range's remote western reaches.
Qaidam Basin : A high-altitude basin in northeastern Tibet, within Qinghai province, China. The Kunlun range separates much of it from the Tibetan Plateau proper.
Kunlun earthquake : A magnitude 7.8 earthquake that ruptured the Kunlun Fault in Qinghai, China, in November 2001. Its long surface rupture revealed how the range's active fault system behaves.
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