. Red is the Transhimalaya where Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains lies. Lhasa to the east.|thumb One source says the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains range is about in length. Its highest point is located to the northwest of
Lhasa. The range is parallel to the
Himalayas in the
Transhimalayas, and north of the
Yarlung Tsangpo River. Another source says the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains extend from
Nyêmo County in the west to
Ranwu County (the southwestern part of
Baxoi County) in the east. Its highest peak is
Mount Nyenchen Tanglha (
Nyainqêntanglha Feng) at . The southern side of the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains is precipitous, and falls by around , while the northern side is fairly level and descends about . Most of the mountains are below . They contain 7080 glaciers covering an area of . The Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains have an average latitude of 30°30'N and a longitude between 90°E and 97°E. Together with the
Gangdise Shan located further west, it forms the
Transhimalaya which runs parallel to the Himalayas north of the
Yarlung Tsangpo River. The Drukla Chu river rises in the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains, where it is called the Song Chu river, and joins the Gyamda Chu river. The combined rivers run about southeast to the Yarlung Tsangpo river.
Subranges The range is divided into two main parts: the West and East Nyenchen Tanglha, with a division at the high
Tro La Pass near
Lhari Town.
West Nyenchen Tanglha above
Namtso. The West Nyenchen Tanglha lies to the southeast of
Namtso. The range trends to the northeast, and forms part of the northern watershed of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. The northeastern section is drained by the
Lhasa River, the largest tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo. West Nyenchen Tanglha includes the four highest peaks in the range, all above :
Mount Nyenchen Tanglha (7162m), Nyenchen Tanglha II (7117m), Nyenchen Tanglha III (7046m) and Jomo Gangtse (7048m), all located in
Damxung County of Lhasa. West Nyenchen Tanglha separates the basins of the Yarlung Tsangpo in the south from the
endorheic basins of the
Changtang in the north.
East Nyenchen Tanglha East Nyenchen Tanglha, located in
Nagqu,
Chamdo and
Nyingchi, marks the
water divide between the Yarlung Tsangpo to the south and the Nak Chu river (which becomes the Nujiang and
Salween in its lower reach) to the north. The rugged and heavily glaciated range counts more than 240 peaks over , culminating with
Sepu Kangri (6,956 m) which has a 2,213 m
topographic prominence and is away from a higher point. Large areas of the eastern sector are snow-covered. Two-thirds of the glaciers, accounting for five-sixths of the area, lie in the eastern section. This section receives the southwest monsoons, which enter the Tibetan plateau at the Yarlung Zanbo river's Grand Bend. The air is forced up by the terrain, and yields the highest rainfall and moistest air of the plateau, which feeds the development of glaciers. There are thirty-two glaciers that are over long. Kyagquen Glacier is the largest, covering and extending for . The end of the Qiaqing glacial tongue is at in an area of mountain forests. The glacier foot is at . According to the Langzhou Glaciers Research Institute, there are a total of 2,905
glaciers in the range covering a total area of . Most of the peaks in East Nyenchen Tanglha, called the "
Alps of Tibet", are unclimbed. Sepu Kangri itself was attempted twice by
Chris Bonington and Charles Clarke in 1997 and 1998, about which experience Bonington and Clarke wrote the book ''Tibet's Secret Mountain: The Triumph of Sepu Kangri'' (). The summit was finally reached on 2 October 2002 by
Mark Newcomb and
Carlos Buhler. In 2005
Mick Fowler and Chris Watts climbed Kajaqiao, and in 2007 Fowler returned with Paul Ramsden to climb Manamcho, known as the
Matterhorn of the East Nyenchen Tanglha. == See also ==