Tibet

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Tibet}}
[[File:Tibet and surrounding areas topographic map 3.png|thumb|[[Tibetan Plateau]] and surrounding areas above 1600 m – [[topography]].<ref name="GLOBE" /><ref name="ETOPO1" /> Tibet is often called the "roof of the world".]]
[[File:拷贝 (70097727).jpeg|thumb|Himalayas, on the southern rim of the Tibetan plateau]]
All of modern China, including Tibet, is considered a part of [[East Asia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/surface-of-the-earth/plateaus-article.html|title=plateaus|access-date=May 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401160422/http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/surface-of-the-earth/plateaus-article.html|archive-date=April 1, 2009|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Historically, some European sources also considered parts of Tibet to lie in [[Central Asia]]. Tibet is west of the [[Central Plain (China)|Central China plain]]. In China, Tibet is regarded as part of {{lang|zh|西部}} ({{transliteration|zh|Xībù}}), a term usually translated by Chinese media as "the Western section", meaning "Western China".

=== Mountains and rivers ===
[[File:View over Lhasa. 1993.jpg|thumb|View over Lhasa, 1993]]
[[File:IMG 0839 Yarlong Tsangpo.jpg|thumb|[[Yarlung Tsangpo River (Tibet)|Yarlung Tsangpo River]]]]
Tibet has some of the world's tallest mountains, with several of them making the top ten list. [[Mount Everest]], located on the border with [[Nepal]], is, at {{convert|8848.86|m|ft|0}}, the [[List of highest mountains|highest mountain]] on earth. Several major rivers have their source in the [[Tibetan Plateau]] (mostly in present-day Qinghai Province). These include the [[Yangtze River|Yangtze]], [[Yellow River]], [[Indus River]], [[Mekong]], [[Ganges]], [[Salween River|Salween]] and the [[Yarlung Tsangpo River]] ([[Brahmaputra River]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/world/china-tibet-and-the-strategic-power-of-water/ |title=Circle of Blue, 8 May 2008 China, Tibet, and the strategic power of water |publisher=Circleofblue.org |date=2008-05-08 |access-date=2010-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080702122515/http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/world/china-tibet-and-the-strategic-power-of-water/ |archive-date=July 2, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The [[Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon]], along the [[Yarlung Tsangpo River]], is among the deepest and longest canyons in the world.

Tibet has been called the "Water Tower" of Asia, and China is investing heavily in water projects in Tibet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.futurewater.nl/uk/projects/tibet/ |title=The Water Tower Function of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. |publisher=Futurewater.nl |access-date=2012-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425233325/http://www.futurewater.nl/uk/projects/tibet/ |archive-date=April 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.people.com.cn/90780/91344/7571032.html |title=China to spend record amount on Tibetan water projects. |publisher=English.people.com.cn |date=2011-08-16 |access-date=2012-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227231909/http://english.people.com.cn/90780/91344/7571032.html |archive-date=December 27, 2011 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

[[File:Yamdrok Lake (37228713076).jpg|thumb|[[Yamdrok Lake]]]]
The Indus and Brahmaputra rivers originate from the vicinities of Lake [[Mapam Yumco]] in Western Tibet, near [[Mount Kailash]]. The mountain is a holy pilgrimage site for both [[Hindu]]s and Tibetans. The Hindus consider the mountain to be the abode of [[Lord Shiva]]. The Tibetan name for Mount Kailash is Khang Rinpoche. Tibet has numerous high-altitude lakes referred to in Tibetan as ''tso'' or ''co''. These include [[Qinghai Lake]], [[Lake Manasarovar]], [[Namtso]], [[Pangong Tso]], [[Yamdrok Lake]], [[Siling Co]], [[Lhamo La-tso]], [[Lumajangdong Co]], [[Lake Puma Yumco]], [[Lake Paiku]], [[Como Chamling]], [[Lake Rakshastal]], [[Dagze Co]] and [[Dong Co]]. The Qinghai Lake (Koko Nor) is the largest lake in the People's Republic of China.

=== Climate ===
The climate is severely dry nine months of the year, and average annual snowfall is only {{convert|46|cm|inch|abbr=in}}, due to the [[rain shadow|rain shadow effect]]. Western passes receive small amounts of fresh snow each year but remain traversible all year round. Low temperatures are prevalent throughout these western regions, where bleak desolation is unrelieved by any vegetation bigger than a low bush, and where the wind sweeps unchecked across vast expanses of arid plain. The Indian [[monsoon]] exerts some influence on eastern Tibet. Northern Tibet is subject to high temperatures in the summer and intense cold in the winter.

{{Weather box
|location = Lhasa (1986−2015 normals, extremes 1951−2022)
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|Jan high C =  8.4
|Feb high C = 10.1
|Mar high C = 13.3
|Apr high C = 16.3
|May high C = 20.5
|Jun high C = 24.0
|Jul high C = 23.3
|Aug high C = 22.0
|Sep high C = 20.7
|Oct high C = 17.5
|Nov high C = 12.9
|Dec high C =  9.3

| Jan mean C  = −0.3
| Feb mean C  =  2.3
| Mar mean C  =  5.9
| Apr mean C  =  9.0
| May mean C  = 13.1
| Jun mean C  = 16.7
| Jul mean C  = 16.5
| Aug mean C  = 15.4
| Sep mean C  = 13.8
| Oct mean C  =  9.4
| Nov mean C  =  3.8
| Dec mean C  = −0.1

|Jan low C = −7.4
|Feb low C = −4.7
|Mar low C = −0.8
|Apr low C =  2.7
|May low C =  6.8
|Jun low C = 10.9
|Jul low C = 11.4
|Aug low C = 10.7
|Sep low C =  8.9
|Oct low C =  3.1
|Nov low C = −3.0
|Dec low C = −6.8

|Jan record high C = 20.5
|Feb record high C = 21.3
|Mar record high C = 25.1
|Apr record high C = 25.9
|May record high C = 29.4
|Jun record high C = 30.8
|Jul record high C = 30.4
|Aug record high C = 27.2
|Sep record high C = 26.5
|Oct record high C = 24.8
|Nov record high C = 22.8
|Dec record high C = 20.1

|Jan record low C = −16.5
|Feb record low C = −15.4
|Mar record low C = −13.6
|Apr record low C =  −8.1
|May record low C =  −2.7
|Jun record low C =   2.0
|Jul record low C =   4.5
|Aug record low C =   3.3
|Sep record low C =   0.3
|Oct record low C =  −7.2
|Nov record low C = −11.2
|Dec record low C = −16.1

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm =   0.9
|Feb precipitation mm =   1.8
|Mar precipitation mm =   2.9
|Apr precipitation mm =   8.6
|May precipitation mm =  28.4
|Jun precipitation mm =  75.9
|Jul precipitation mm = 129.6
|Aug precipitation mm = 133.5
|Sep precipitation mm =  66.7
|Oct precipitation mm =   8.8
|Nov precipitation mm =   0.9
|Dec precipitation mm =   0.3

|Jan humidity = 26
|Feb humidity = 25
|Mar humidity = 27
|Apr humidity = 36
|May humidity = 41
|Jun humidity = 48
|Jul humidity = 59
|Aug humidity = 63
|Sep humidity = 59
|Oct humidity = 45
|Nov humidity = 34
|Dec humidity = 29
|unit precipitation days =  0.1 mm
|Jan precipitation days  =  0.6
|Feb precipitation days  =  1.2
|Mar precipitation days  =  2.1
|Apr precipitation days  =  5.4
|May precipitation days  =  9.0
|Jun precipitation days  = 14.0
|Jul precipitation days  = 19.4
|Aug precipitation days  = 19.9
|Sep precipitation days  = 14.6
|Oct precipitation days  =  4.1
|Nov precipitation days  =  0.6
|Dec precipitation days  =  0.4

|Jan sun = 250.9 |Jan percentsun  = 78
|Feb sun = 231.2 |Feb percentsun  = 72
|Mar sun = 253.2 |Mar percentsun  = 66
|Apr sun = 248.8 |Apr percentsun  = 65
|May sun = 280.4 |May percentsun  = 66
|Jun sun = 260.7 |Jun percentsun  = 61
|Jul sun = 227.0 |Jul percentsun  = 53
|Aug sun = 214.3 |Aug percentsun  = 54
|Sep sun = 232.7 |Sep percentsun  = 62
|Oct sun = 280.3 |Oct percentsun  = 80
|Nov sun = 267.1 |Nov percentsun  = 84
|Dec sun = 257.2 |Dec percentsun  = 82
                 |year percentsun = 67<!--automatically calculated value of 68.6 gives maximum possible daily sun hrs less than 12-->
|source 1 = China Meteorological Administration,<ref name= CMA >{{cite web | url = http://old-cdc.cma.gov.cn/shuju/search1.jsp?dsid=SURF_CLI_CHN_MUL_MMON_19712000_CES&tpcat=SURF&type=table&pageid=3 | script-title = zh:中国地面国际交换站气候标准值月值数据集（1971－2000年） | access-date = 2010-05-04 | publisher = [[China Meteorological Administration]] | language = zh | archive-date = October 16, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131016192548/http://old-cdc.cma.gov.cn/shuju/search1.jsp?dsid=SURF_CLI_CHN_MUL_MMON_19712000_CES&tpcat=SURF&type=table&pageid=3 | url-status = dead }}</ref> all-time extreme temperature<ref name = Mherrera>{{cite web
|url= http://www.mherrera.org/temp.htm
|title= Extreme Temperatures Around the World
|access-date= 2013-02-21
|archive-date= June 22, 2013
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130622141215/http://www.mherrera.org/temp.htm
|url-status= live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=55591&ano=2022&mes=3&day=29&hora=18&min=0&ndays=30|title= 55591: Lhasa (China)|author= <!--Not stated-->|date= 28 March 2022|website= ogimet.com|publisher= OGIMET|access-date= 29 March 2022|quote= |archive-date= March 29, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220329195147/https://ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=55591&ano=2022&mes=3&day=29&hora=18&min=0&ndays=30|url-status= live}}</ref>
|source 2 =[http://cdc.cma.gov.cn/dataSetLogger.do?changeFlag=pageid=3 China Meteorological Administration National Meteorological Information Center]
}}
{{Weather box
|location=Leh (1951–1980)
|metric first=Yes
|single line=Yes
|Jan record high C=8.3
|Feb record high C=12.8
|Mar record high C=19.4
|Apr record high C=23.9
|May record high C=28.9
|Jun record high C=34.8
|Jul record high C=34.0
|Aug record high C=34.2
|Sep record high C=30.6
|Oct record high C=25.6
|Nov record high C=20.0
|Dec record high C=12.8
|year record high C=34.8
|Jan high C=-2.0
|Feb high C=1.5
|Mar high C=6.5
|Apr high C=12.3
|May high C=16.2
|Jun high C=21.8
|Jul high C=25.0
|Aug high C=25.3
|Sep high C=21.7
|Oct high C=14.6
|Nov high C=7.9
|Dec high C=2.3
|year high C=12.8
|Jan low C=-14.4
|Feb low C=-11.0
|Mar low C=-5.9
|Apr low C=-1.1
|May low C=3.2
|Jun low C=7.4
|Jul low C=10.5
|Aug low C=10.0
|Sep low C=5.8
|Oct low C=-1.0
|Nov low C=-6.7
|Dec low C=-11.8
|year low C=-1.3
|Jan record low C=-28.3
|Feb record low C=-26.4
|Mar record low C=-19.4
|Apr record low C=-12.8
|May record low C=-4.4
|Jun record low C=-1.1
|Jul record low C=0.6
|Aug record low C=1.5
|Sep record low C=-4.4
|Oct record low C=-8.5
|Nov record low C=-17.5
|Dec record low C=-25.6
|year record low C=-28.3
|rain colour=green
|Jan rain mm=9.5
|Feb rain mm=8.1
|Mar rain mm=11.0
|Apr rain mm=9.1
|May rain mm=9.0
|Jun rain mm=3.5
|Jul rain mm=15.2
|Aug rain mm=15.4
|Sep rain mm=9.0
|Oct rain mm=7.5
|Nov rain mm=3.6
|Dec rain mm=4.6
|year rain mm=105.5
|Jan rain days=1.3
|Feb rain days=1.1
|Mar rain days=1.3
|Apr rain days=1.0
|May rain days=1.1
|Jun rain days=0.4
|Jul rain days=2.1
|Aug rain days=1.9
|Sep rain days=1.2
|Oct rain days=0.4
|Nov rain days=0.5
|Dec rain days=0.7
|year rain days=13.0
|time day=17:30 [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
|Jan humidity=51
|Feb humidity=51
|Mar humidity=46
|Apr humidity=36
|May humidity=30
|Jun humidity=26
|Jul humidity=33
|Aug humidity=34
|Sep humidity=31
|Oct humidity=27
|Nov humidity=40
|Dec humidity=46
|year humidity=
|source 1=[[India Meteorological Department]]<ref name=IMD >{{cite web |url=http://www.imd.gov.in/section/climate/extreme/leh2.htm |title=Leh Climatological Table Period: 1951–1980 |publisher=[[India Meteorological Department]] |access-date=April 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225132218/http://www.imd.gov.in/section/climate/extreme/leh2.htm |archive-date=25 February 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=IMD2>{{cite web |url=http://www.mausam.gov.in/WEBIMD/ClimatologicalAction.do?function=getStationDetails&actionParam=1&param=2&station=Leh |title=Leh Climatological Table Period: 1951–1980 |publisher=India Meteorological Department |access-date=April 4, 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721172646/http://www.mausam.gov.in/WEBIMD/ClimatologicalAction.do?function=getStationDetails&actionParam=1&param=2&station=Leh |archive-date=21 July 2011}}</ref>
}}

=== Wildlife ===
''[[Sus scrofa]]'' expanded from its origin in southeast Asia into the Plateau, acquiring and [[fixation (population genetics)|fixing]] adaptive alleles for the high-altitude environment.<ref name="Frantz-et-al-2016">{{cite journal | last1=Frantz | first1=Laurent | last2=Meijaard | first2=Erik | last3=Gongora | first3=Jaime | last4=Haile | first4=James | last5=Groenen | first5=Martien A.M. | last6=Larson | first6=Greger | title=The Evolution of Suidae | journal=[[Annual Review of Animal Biosciences]] | publisher=[[Annual Reviews (publisher)|Annual Reviews]] | volume=4 | issue=1 | date=2016-02-15 | issn=2165-8102 | doi=10.1146/annurev-animal-021815-111155 | pages=61–85| pmid=26526544 }}</ref> The forests of Tibet are home to black bears, red pandas, musk deer, barking deer, and squirrels. Monkeys such as [[rhesus macaque]]s and [[Colobinae|langurs]] live in the warmer forest zones. Tibetan antelopes, gazelles, and kiangs gaze on the grasslands of the Tibetan plateau. There are more than 500 bird species in Tibet. Because of the high altitude and harsh climate, there are few insects in Tibet.<ref name=":0" />

Snow leopards are hunted for their fur and the eggs of black-necked cranes have been collected as a delicacy food.

=== Regions ===
[[File:Gongbo'gyamda, Nyingchi, Tibet, China - panoramio (19).jpg|thumb|[[Basum Tso]] in [[Gongbo'gyamda County]], eastern Tibet]]
Cultural Tibet consists of several regions. These include Amdo (''A mdo'') in the northeast, which is administratively part of the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan. Kham (''Khams'') in the southeast encompasses parts of western Sichuan, northern [[Yunnan]], southern Qinghai, and the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. [[Ü-Tsang]] (''dBus gTsang'') (Ü in the center, Tsang in the center-west, and Ngari (''mNga' ris'') in the far west) covered the central and western portion of Tibet Autonomous Region.<ref>Petech, L., [https://books.google.com/books?id=V1GkmBOQLkAC ''China and Tibet in the Early XVIIIth Century: History of the Establishment of Chinese Protectorate in Tibet''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101191608/https://books.google.com/books?id=V1GkmBOQLkAC&printsec=frontcover&sig=6eAnf2zWcz7L113XKhOc8cCv8MI |date=January 1, 2016 }}, p51 & p98</ref>

Tibetan cultural influences extend to the neighboring states of [[Bhutan]], Nepal, regions of India such as [[Sikkim]], [[Ladakh]], [[Lahaul]], and [[Spiti]], Northern Pakistan [[Baltistan]] or [[Balti-yul]] in addition to designated Tibetan [[autonomous area]]s in adjacent Chinese provinces.

=== Cities, towns and villages ===
{{Further|List of populated places in the Tibet Autonomous Region}}
[[File:Jokhang Temple Lhasa Tibet China 西藏 拉萨 大昭寺 - panoramio (6).jpg|thumb|Looking across the square at [[Jokhang]] temple, [[Chengguan District, Lhasa|Lhasa]]]]
There are over 800 settlements in Tibet. [[Lhasa]] is Tibet's traditional capital and the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Heinrichs|first=Ann|title=Enchantment of the World: Tibet|publisher=[[Children's Press]]|year=1996|isbn=0-516-20155-7|pages=19–20, 62, 143|language=English}}</ref> It contains two world heritage sites&nbsp;– the [[Potala Palace]] and [[Norbulingka]], which were the residences of the Dalai Lama. Lhasa contains a number of significant temples and monasteries, including [[Jokhang]] and [[Ramoche Temple]].

[[Shigatse]] is the second largest city in the Tibet AR, west of Lhasa. [[Gyantse]] and [[Qamdo]] are also amongst the largest.

Other cities and towns in cultural Tibet include [[Shiquanhe]] (Gar), [[Nagchu Town|Nagchu]], [[Bamda]], [[Rutog Town|Rutog]], [[Nyingchi]], [[Shannan, Tibet|Nedong]], [[Coqên (village)|Coqên]], [[Barkam Town|Barkam]], [[Sagya]], [[Gêrzê County|Gertse]], [[Pelbar]], [[Lhatse]], and [[Tingri Town|Tingri]]; in Sichuan, [[Kangding]] (Dartsedo); in Qinghai, [[Jyekundo]] (Yushu), [[Maqên County|Machen]], and [[Golmud]]; in India, [[Tawang]], [[Leh]], and [[Gangtok]], and in Pakistan, [[Skardu]], [[Kharmang Valley|Kharmang]], and [[Khaplu]].