Tsomoriri - त्सोमोरिरी

Co-ordinates 32.900000, 78.300000 Nearby Cities Ladakh,Srinagar Location Ladakh State Himachal Pradesh Wikipedia Links http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsomoriri http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladakh

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Tsomoriri, one of the highest lakes in the world, lies in the Changthang (literally meaning, northern plains) region, between 4000-5000m altitude Changthang's most striking feature is the absence of a consistent slope, which would enable water to drain away Rather the undulating land forms itself into huge basins, into which snowmelt streams flow, and finding no outlet settle into the great brackish lakes, like Tsomoriri Tsomoriri which is a fresh to brackish water lake, spread over an area of about 120 sqkm with a maximum depth of 40 m Wet meadows and borax loaded wetlands covering around 10 sqkm border its northern and southern shores Tsomoriri has been designated as a Ramsar Site in November 2002.

Justification for Designation as Ramsar Site

Tsomoriri is a unique example of a wetland type in the Trans-himalayan biogeographic zone Unique faunal assemblages with high diversity, endemism and number of rare orvulnerable species including at least 3 bird species: blacknecked crane, Grus nigricollis (Endangered), ferruginous pochard, Aythya nyroca (Vulnerable), blacknecked grebe, Podiceps nigricollis (Rare), species of large ungulates the great Tibetan sheep, Ovis ammon hogdsoni (Vulnerable) and Tibetan wild ass, Equus kiang (Data Defi cient) both endemic to the Tibetan plateau plus possibly a third, the Tibetan gazelle, Procapra picticaudata (Threatened) Also included are a number of smaller herbivore species endemic to the region: one species of vole, Alticola roylei, three species of mouse hares, Ochotona macrotis, Ocurzoniae, Oladacensis, one species of hare, Lepus oistolus and one species of marmot, Marmota himalayana Vital role as breeding grounds and key staging posts on migration routes for over 40 species of water birds belonging to 6 families (Podicipedidae, Ardeidae, Anatidae, Gruidae, Charadriidae and Sternidae plus the two raptor families Accipitridae & Falconidae) indicative of wetland diversity and productivity.

Fauna

Tsomoriri and Tsokar wetlands represent the only breeding ground of the barheaded goose, Anser indicus in India and the only breeding ground for the globally threatened blacknecked crane, Grus nigricollis, outside China Other than the barheaded goose, the main waterbird species breeding in the area include: the ruddy shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea, common redshank Tringa totanus, brownheaded gull, Larus brunnicephalus, lesser sand plover, Charadrius mongolus and greatcrested grebe, Podiceps cristatus Of the smaller mammals, marmots (the Himalayan marmot) are plentiful on the hill slopes surrounding the lakes and even along roadsides are also present.

Threats

The construction of a road right up to the lake has opened up this once remote basin for tourism and economic activities. The increased human activity is likely to affect the breeding waterfowl population Direct disturbance, wilful or otherwise, is another serious threat eg Kiang chasing by jeep safari, disturbance of the blacknecked crane in its feeding and breeding grounds.