Lakes of Bhutan

rdf:langString Lakes of Bhutan

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rdf:langString Topographical map of Bhutan

rdf:langString Satellite image of Bhutan

rdf:langString Topographical map of Bhutan

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rdf:langString Glaciers in Bhutan cover a substantial portion of its northern regions.

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rdf:langString Satellite image of Bhutan in April 2002.jpg

rdf:langString The lakes of Bhutan comprise its glacial lakes and its natural mountain lakes. Bhutanese territory contains some 2,674 high altitude glacial lakes and subsidiary lakes, out of which 25 pose a risk of GLOFs. There are also more than 59 natural non-glacial lakes in Bhutan, covering about 4,250 hectares (16.4 sq mi). Most are located above an altitude of 3,500 metres (11,500 ft), and most have no permanent human settlements nearby, though many are used for grazing yaks and may have scattered temporary settlements. Only four lakes are below an altitude of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft): the temperate Ho Ko Tsho in Punakha District at 1,829 metres (6,001 ft); Luchika in Wangdue Phodrang at 1,830 metres (6,000 ft); Buli in Zhemgang at 1,372 metres (4,501 ft); and the subtropical Gulandi in Samdrup Jongkhar at 366 metres (1,201 ft). As phenomena of nature, all lakes in Bhutan are believed to be inhabited by spirits. A handful of lakes in Bhutan are particularly sacred, most often connected to lives of Buddhist saints Guru Rimpoche and Pema Lingpa. For example, Membar Tsho ("Burning Lake"), in the Tang Valley near Bumthang, is heavily associated with Guru Rimpoche, who brought Buddhism to Bhutan and discovered his first terma in the lake in 1475. Most natural lake names are denoted with the word tsho, meaning "lake" (Dzongkha: མཚོ་; Wylie: mtsho). They may be identified as an individuals, pairs, or groups of lakes.