The Tibetan Plateau is the most extensive alpine region on the planet. It is sometimes called the "Roof of the world." It houses Tibet, which until half the last century was an independent state, and now is part of China. Its second name is Country of Snows.
Tibetan Plateau: Geographical Location
The highlands are located in Central Asia, mainly in China. In the west, the Tibetan plateau borders with the Karakoram, in the north - with Kun-Lun, and in the east - with the Sino-Tibet mountains, in the south it meets the majestic Himalayas.
Three areas are distinguished in Tibet: central and western (U-Tsang), northeastern (Amdo), eastern and southeastern (Kam). The highlands cover an area of 2 million square kilometers. The average height of the Tibetan Plateau is from 4 to 5 thousand meters.
Relief
In the northern part there are hilly and flat plains with great altitude. Outwardly, Northern Tibet resembles the midlands, only significantly elevated. There are glacial landforms: punishment, canes, moraines. They start at an altitude of 4500 meters.
Along the edges of the highlands are mountains with steep slopes, deep valleys and gorges. Closer to the Himalayas and Sino-Tibetan mountains, the plains take the form of intermountain depressions, where the Brahmaputra flows - the largest river. The Tibetan plateau here drops to 2500-3000 meters.
Origin
The Himalayas and Tibet together with it were formed as a result of subduction - a collision of lithospheric plates. The formation of the Tibetan Plateau was as follows. The Indian platform plunged beneath the Asian plate. At the same time, she did not go down into the mantle, but began to move horizontally, so she advanced a great distance and raised the Tibetan plateau to a great height. Therefore, the relief here is mostly flat.
Climate
The climate, which has the Tibetan Plateau, is very severe, typical of the highlands. And at the same time, the air here is dry, since the highlands are located inside the mainland. In most of the highlands, the amount of precipitation is 100-200 millimeters per year. In the outskirts reaches 500 millimeters, in the south, where the monsoons blow, - 700-1000. Mostly precipitation falls in the form of snow.
Thanks to such a dry climate, the snow line runs very high, at around 6,000 meters. The largest area of glaciers is in the southern part, where Kailash and Tangla are located. In the north and in the center, the average annual temperature fluctuates between 0 and 5 degrees. A snowy winter lasts a long time, there are thirty-degree frosts. Summer is cool enough with a temperature of 10-15 degrees. In the valleys and closer to the south, the climate is getting warmer.
The Tibetan plateau has a great height, so the air is very thin, this feature contributes to sharp temperature fluctuations. At night, the area is very cooled, there are strong local winds with dust storms.
Inland waters
Most rivers and lakes in the highlands have closed basins, that is, they do not have external flow into the seas and oceans. Although on the outskirts, dominated by monsoons, there are sources of large and significant rivers. Here the Yangtze, Mekong, Yellow River, Indus, Saluin, Brahmaputra originates. All these are the largest rivers of India and China. In the north, water flows are mainly due to the melting of snows and glaciers. In the south, it still rains.
Within the Tibetan plateau, the rivers are of a flat nature, and within the ranges on the periphery they can be very stormy and rapid, their valleys are more like gorges. In summer, rivers flood, and in winter they freeze.
Numerous lakes in the Tibet Plateau are located at an altitude of 4,500 to 5,300 meters. Their origin is tectonic. Large of them: Seling, Namtso, Dangrum. Most of the lakes are shallow, the banks are low. The water in them has a different salt content, so the colors and shades of water mirrors are diverse: from brown to turquoise. In November, they set in ice, the water stands frozen until May.
Vegetation
The Tibetan Plateau is occupied mainly by highland steppes and deserts. In vast territories there is no vegetation cover; here is the kingdom of rubble and stone. Although on the outskirts of the highlands there are fertile lands with mountain meadow soils.
In the high mountain deserts vegetation is stunted. Herbs of the Tibetan Highlands: wormwood, acantholimones, astragals, saussureys. Shrubs: ephedra, teresken, tanatsetum.
Mosses and lichens are widespread in the north. Where groundwater is close to the surface, there is also meadow vegetation (sedge, cotton grass, cotton grass, cobresia).
In the east and south of the Tibetan Plateau, the amount of precipitation increases, conditions become more favorable, and altitudinal zoning is manifested. If mountain deserts dominate above, then mountain steppes (feather grass, fescue, bluegrass) dominate below. Shrubs (juniper, caragana, rhododendron) grow in the valleys of large rivers. There are also tugai forests of willow and Turanga poplar.
Animal world
Ungulates live in the Tibetan Plateau in the north: yaks, antelopes, argali, orongo and hell, kiang kuk-yaman. Hares, pikas and voles come across.
There are also predators: a squeaky bear, a fox, a wolf, a takal. The following birds live here: finch, ular, saj. There are also carnivores: long-tailed eagle and Himalayan vulture.
The history of the unification of Tibet
Tribes of Qiang (ancestors of the people of Tibet) moved to the highlands from Kukunor in the 6-5 century BC. In the 7th century of a new era, they switched to agriculture, at the same time the primitive communal system was disintegrating. Tibetan tribes are united by Namri - the ruler from Yarlung. The existence of the Tibetan Empire (7th-9th centuries) begins with his son and heir Sronzangango.
In 787, Buddhism became the religion of the state. During the reign of Langdarma, his followers began to be persecuted. After the death of the ruler, the state breaks up into separate principalities. In the 11-12 centuries, many religious Buddhist sects appeared here, monasteries were built, the largest of which acquire the status of independent theocratic states.
In the 13th century, Tibet fell under the influence of the Mongols, dependence disappears after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty. From the 14th to the 17th century, a struggle for power takes place. Monk Zongkaba organizes a new Buddhist sect of Gelukba, in the 16th century the head of this sect receives the title of Dalai Lama. In the 17th century, the fifth Dalai Lama turned for help to the Oirat Khan Kukunor. In 1642, the rival — the king of Tsang — was defeated. The Gelukba sect begins to rule in Tibet, and the Dalai Lama becomes the spiritual and secular head of the country.
Further story
By the middle of the 18th century, the east and northeast of Tibet were part of the Qin empire. By the end of the century, other territories of the state were subordinated. Power remained in the hands of the Dalai Lama, but under the control of the Qing court. In the 19th century, the British invade Tibet, in 1904 their troops entered Lhasa. An agreement was signed granting British privileges to Tibet.
The Russian government intervened, and an agreement was signed with England to preserve and respect the territorial integrity of Tibet. In 1911, the Xin Han Revolution occurred, during which all Chinese troops were expelled from Tibet. Subsequently, the Dalai Lama announced the termination of all ties with Beijing.
But Tibet retained a strong English influence. After the end of World War II, the influence of the United States is activated here. In 1949, the authorities proclaimed the independence of Tibet. China regarded this as separatism. The movement of the People's Liberation Army towards Tibet began. In 1951, the state received the status of national autonomy within China. After 8 years, the uprising began again, and the Dalai Lama was forced to hide in India. In 1965, the Tibet Autonomous Region was created here. After that, the Chinese authorities carried out a series of repressions against the clergy.
How Buddhism appeared in Tibet
The penetration of Buddhism into Tibet is entangled in secrets and legends. The state at that time was young and strong. According to legend, the Tibetans learned about Buddhism through a miracle. When King Lhatotori ruled, a small box fell from the sky. It contained the text of the Karandavyuh sutra. Thanks to this text, the state began to flourish, the king considered him his secret assistant.
The first of the Tibetan kings of the Dharma was Sronzangango, later he was considered the embodiment of the patron saint of Tibet - the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. He married two princesses, one from Nepal, the other from China. Both brought with them Buddhist texts and cult objects. The Chinese princess took with her a large Buddha statue, which is considered the main relic of Tibet. Tradition honors these two women as the embodiment of Tara - green and white.
In the middle of the 8th century, the famous philosopher Shantarakshita was invited to preach, who soon founded the first Buddhist monasteries.