Tso Kar Lake

 The Tso Kar is a fluctuating salt lake known for its size and depth situated in the Rupshu Plateau and valley in the southern part of Ladakh in India. Tso Kar lies 160 km south of Leh; the Leh Manali road passes 30 km west of it.

It is called Tso Kar, meaning white lake, because of the white salt efflorescence found on the margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water.

It is connected by an inlet stream at its south-west end to a small lake, Startsapuk Tso, and together they form the 9 km² More plains pool, which is dominated by the peaks of two mountains, Thugje (6050 m) and Gursan (6370 m). From the geology of the More Plains, it can be concluded that the Tso Kar in historical times ranged up to this high valley. Until a few years ago the lake was an important source of salt, which the Changpa nomads used to export to Tibet. The nomadic settlement of Thugje is located 3 km in the north. There is a tented camp on the west bank of the lake which provides accommodation for tourists.

Due to the high altitude, the climate is extreme in the winter; temperatures below -40 °C are not uncommon. In the summer the temperature rises above 30 °C (86 °F), with extreme fluctuations during the day. Precipitation in the form of either rain or snow is extremely rare

The inlets of the Tso Kar are a source of non-saline water; pondweeds and basic nettles grow there, forming floating islands of vegetation in the spring and dying off in the winter. Sedge and large numbers of buttercups grow on the shores of Startsapuk Tso and of the tributaries of the Tso Kar, while some parts of the high basin are marked by steppe vegetation interspersed with tragacanth and pea bushes. The shore of Tso Kar is partly covered with a salt crust, which keeps vegetation away from the inflows.

Due to the salinity of the Tso Kar, most of the resident fauna is found in its tributaries and in Startsapuk Tso. There are large breeding colonies of grebes and brown-headed gulls, and some strip geese, rust geese and terns. In the vicinity of the lake black-necked cranes and Tibetan grouse are relatively common. The basin of the Tso Kar and the adjoining More Plains constitute one of the most important habitats of the kiang, Tibetan gazelles, Tibetan wolves and foxes; there are himalayan marmots in the higher reaches. Yaks and horses are kept by the nomads.

Currently the lake basin has no special protection, but there are plans to include it within a national park which may be established in the highlands of south-eastern Ladakh

Tsokar has been added as the 42nd Ramsar site, a conservation status conferred by International Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex, consisting of two principal waterbodies:

Startsapuk Tso, a freshwater lake of about 438 hectares to the south,

Tso Kar itself, a hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares to the north,

       situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh.

It is an A1 Category Important Bird Area (IBA) as per Bird Life International and a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway.

This high-altitude wetland complex is found at more than 4,500 metres above sea level in the Changthang region of Ladakh. The complex includes two connected lakes, the freshwater Startsapuk Tso and the larger hypersaline Tso Kar; it presents a notable example of two such lakes existing in close proximity. The name Tso Kar refers to the white salt efflorescence on the margins of the lake caused by the evaporation of the saline waters. The local climate is arid, and glacial meltwater is the primary water source for the lakes. The lakes and in particular the presence of fresh water attract biodiversity in a biologically sparse region. Inhabiting the Site are numerous threatened species including the endangered saker falcon (Falco cherrug) and Asiatic wild dog or dhole (Cuon alpinus laniger), and the vulnerable snow leopard (Panthera uncia). The Site also acts as an important stopover ground for migratory birds along the Central Asian Flyway and is one of the most important breeding areas in India for the black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis).

Administrative region: 

Nyoma Block, Leh District, Union Territory of Ladakh.It is also recognised as India's 42nd Ramsar site.

https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2443