TY  - Data
T1  - Outline of the Natural Environment of Kunlun Mountains and Tarim
A1  - Documentation Information Center
DO  - 10.12389/ariddc.02052
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026-09-17
PB  - Arid Land Ecology and Resources Science Data Center
AB  - The Tarim Basin is a gigantic depression in Central Asia. This southern region of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China has long attracted the attention of scientists. The basin's inland position and its profound geographical isolation, enclosed by the highest mountain ranges such as the Tianshan, Pamirs, and Kunlun Mountains, have determined the extreme aridity of this vast desert region. Its unique and incomparable natural environment makes scientific investigation both attractive and fascinating. However, the basin is occupied internally by the endless Taklamakan Desert and surrounded by lofty mountain ranges, making access extremely difficult. As a result, this region of China has remained relatively poorly studied.In 1959, the Xinjiang Comprehensive Expedition of the Academy of Sciences of the People's Republic of China carried out investigations in the Tarim Basin and the Kunlun Mountains, continuing the work begun in 1956 to study the natural conditions and resources of Xinjiang for the agricultural development of the desert plains of the region. With the participation of Soviet scientists, the expedition succeeded in conducting a series of interesting route surveys. These investigations made it possible to gain a new understanding of the natural conditions of the southern Tarim Basin. The expedition included specialists from many disciplines: hydrologists, geomorphologists, hydrogeologists, botanists, soil scientists, land-reclamation specialists, entomologists, agronomists, and economists. Prior to the Xinjiang Comprehensive Expedition, never before had so many natural scientists of different specialties worked together in the Kunlun Mountains. Consequently, the studies carried out by the Academy of Sciences of the People's Republic of China in the country's far western regions helped, to some extent, fill one of the “blank spots” on the map of Central Asia. The results of earlier years of work were partially reflected in th
DB  - EGIDC
UR  - https://data.dcxjegi.cn/portal/metadata/3ece5fbf-113f-491a-bdb3-cd03028c4aa1
ER  -