Lake Puma Yumco, located on the
Tibetan Plateau, is considered world’s remote lakes. The Lake Puma is 32 kilometer
long and 13 kilometer wide and it is situated at an altitude of 5,030 meters
above sea level. The Puma Lake is fed by melting
water from the snow-capped surrounding mountains, but it has no outlet. Notwithstanding
this, the nutrient concentrations in both the water column and lake sediments
are exceptionally low, a condition known as UltraOligotrophy.
In this area the lake water varies their
colors and tends to be blue to blue-green and to have high clarity due to low
levels of photosynthesizing organisms such as phytoplankton. The Puma Lake
appears bright blue when viewed from above the earth. Indeed, the name Puma
Yumco literally means “The Blue Jewel which is floating in the sky”.
The most prominent feature of the
beautiful lake is the intricate ice block pattern which develops on the lake
surface during the winter seasons. The lovely ice pattern is caused by repeated
cycles of freezing, fracturing, and refreezing of the ice due to variations in
temperature and wind-induced ice motion. Generally, when lakes freeze over,
they’re tend to develop a thick crust of uniform ice, which only breaks apart when
the warmer season comes.
But, in order for that to occur,
environmental conditions must remain stable for at least a short while, letting
the ice to establish itself. But when this does not happen, only superficial
layers of water freeze over, while the others do not. Minor variations in
ambient temperatures can then break specific of the ice apart, reorganizing it
into new patterns. When temperatures drop by a few degrees, the ice solidifies
again.
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