Bosten Lake

Where is Bosten Lake?

Countries on its shores: China.

Middle of the lake: 42.00° N, 87.00° E

The story behind it

Around Bosten Lake it hardly ever rains: only about 70 millimetres fall in a whole year. Still, the lake is full of fresh water, because rivers flow into it. The Kaidu River alone brings about 83 out of every 100 litres. The water flows out again through the Kongque River, whose name means Peacock River. The lake is about 55 km long and 25 km wide, and large wetlands spread around it. In summer it gets hot, about 28 °C on average in July, and a lot of water evaporates. In winter it is freezing cold, and from November to March the lake is covered with ice. Farmers use its water for their fields, and fishers catch plenty of fish. Long ago only native kinds of fish lived here; later people brought carp, and today the European perch is the most common fish.

Find it on the globe

Bosten Lake is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.