Shule River

The Shule River flows generally westwards through the Tibetan Plateau and the desert regions of northwestern China. It starts in the Qilian Mountains and stretches for some 900 kilometres (560 mi); however, the river dries up about two-thirds of the way along its course and is lost in the Kumtag Desert, an endorheic basin, meaning its water never reaches the sea. Historically, the river reached farther west to Lop Nur, an intermittent salt lake in the Taklimakan Desert. Large irrigation diversions off the river and the gradual desertification of the region have reduced its flow significantly.

Course

It rises as several streams in a valley on the northern side of the Qilian Mountains or Nan Shan, on the Tibetan Plateau of extreme northern Qinghai province. In its upper 310 kilometres (190 mi) the river flows generally NNW through deep, glacier-carved valleys and precipitous gorges into Gansu Province, and is known as the Changma. It comes out of the mountains in Guazhou County, and spreads onto a massive inland delta or alluvial fan. Now known as the Shule proper, the river turns due west into an agricultural valley, where most of its water is taken away for irrigation and industrial use. North of Dunhuang, the largest city in the river's basin, it disappears into the desert, after flowing some 540 kilometres (340 mi). The dry river channel stretches about 350 kilometres (220 mi) further WSW to the seasonal Lop Nur basin, which comprises intermittent salt flats, playas and marshes.