SPACEPHOTOS

Located on the Tibetan Plateau, “The Roof of the World”, at 15070 feet (4591 meters), Lake Paiku is visible (center of image) in this south-looking view. Lake Paiku is 17 miles (27 km) long and 4 miles (6 km) wide at its narrowest point. Surrounded by rugged mountains on three sides that reach altitudes in excess of 19000 feet (5725 meters), numerous small streams drain into the lake. To the south of Lake Paiku at the upper center of the image, the snow-capped, glaciated rugged peaks of the Himalaya Mountains, that reach altitudes in excess of 24000 feet (7320 meters) are visible. Streams fed by glaciers (upper center) cascade to the valley floor south of Lake Paiku, but only a few streams actually reach the lake. Lake Paiku has no stream outlet. Two small salt lakes can be seen on the image, Lake Lodu Loney to the north (bottom right), and Lake Langiang to the east (left center). The Dogxung River is visible in the lower left quadrant of the image.