Known as the "Lake of Heaven" the Namtso Lake lies in the north Tibetan plateau north of the main peak of the Nyainqentanglha Mountains. The lake. 4,720 meters above sea level and 55 meters deep, covers an area of 1,96 1.5 square kilometers, making it the highest of Tibet's three largest lakes and the second largest salt lake in China.

Some two million years ago, drastic movement of the earth's crust caused the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to rise by a huge degree. As a result of the intense pressures exerted in this process, some strata were folded into high mountains whilst others fell, creating valleys or basins. The Namtso Lake was a result, first, of the movement of the earth's crust. Exacerbated by glacier movement?In the lake's early days, it had a much wider surface area and a lower elevation than it has today. The climate then was much warmer and more humid t00, and the rippling lake was just like a sea. As the earth's crust continued to rise.SO too did the lake. Some 10,000 years ago. The plateau turned cold and dry and the lake's water sources decreased, resulting in the lake shrinking in size. There are three shorelines around the lake, the highest of which is 80 meters higher than today's lake shore.

Summer is the most active time at the Namtso Lake, when wild animals, among them yaks, gazelles and hares, graze happily on the broad grasslands and many migrating birds arrive from the south, to lay their eggs, hatch and raise their broods on islets and lakeshore. Fish often leap out of the water, revealing their silvery scales. Leisurely herders tend their horses, sheep and cattle, filling the valleys with their lovely echoing songs.