Galongla Mountain

Galongla Mountain (Chinese: 嘎隆拉山, Tibetan: དགའ་ལུང་ལ་), elevation 5,106 meters, straddles Bomi County and Medog County in Tibet Autonomous Region, forming a critical segment of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis.[1][2][3]

Geography

Its glaciated slopes (ice coverage: 3.8 km²) feed the Parlung Tsangpo River and the Yarlung Tsangpo basin. The mountain's thrust-fold structure, exposed in 200-meter-high rock faces, reveals Precambrian gneiss overlying Cretaceous granites due to ongoing tectonic compression (convergence rate: 18 mm/year).[4][5]

The Galongla Tunnel (China National Highway 318), completed in 2010 at 3,700 meters, eased access but increased black carbon deposition on the glacier (0.8 μg/g ice core measurements).[6][7] Protected under China's National Ecological Security Barrier Project, the area sustains rare species like the Mishmi takin (Budorcas taxicolor) and Rhododendron galactinum, a cloud-forest shrub endemic to its 3,800–4,200 m slopes.[8][9]

UNESCO designated it part of the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon Biosphere Reserve in 2021. Infrared camera traps (2020–2023) recorded 14 snow leopard transits annually. Permitted trekking routes (May–October) avoid calving icefalls, with mandatory local guides.[10]

References

1. International Glaciological Society (1980). Annals of Glaciology. Annals of Glaciology. International Glaciological Society. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-9502484-8-6. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
2. 中国名山大川辞典 (in Chinese). 山东教育出版社. 1992. p. 70. ISBN 978-7-5328-1368-1. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
3. 中國西藏 (in Chinese). 民族出版社. 2003. p. 74. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
4. 中国科学院. 地理科学與资源研究所; 中国地理学会 (2009). 中国国家地理 (in Chinese). 《 中国国家地理 》杂志社. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
5. 西藏人文地理 (in Chinese). 《西藏人文地理》杂志社. 2008. p. 153. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
6. 中国大香格里拉经济圈研究 (in Chinese). 西南财经大学出版社. 2006. p. 55. ISBN 978-7-81088-531-7. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
7. 雪域高原的璀璨明珠: 林芝 (in Chinese). 西藏人民出版社. 2002. p. 21. ISBN 978-7-223-01478-6. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
8. 西藏自治区地方志编纂委员会 (2007). 西藏自治区志: 公路交通志. 中华人民共和国地方志丛书 (in Chinese). 中国藏学出版社. p. 30. ISBN 978-7-80057-839-7. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
9. 雅鲁藏布江大峡谷生态环境与民族文化考察记 (in Chinese). 中国藏学出版社. 2007. p. 122. ISBN 978-7-80057-938-7. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
10. 墨脫察隅大峡谷: 写眞西藏. 写真西藏 (in Chinese). 云南人民出版社. 1999. p. 141. ISBN 978-7-222-02877-7. Retrieved 2025-02-12.