Lake Puma Yumco

Lake Puma Yumco is a lake located at 5,030 m above mean sea level on the southern Tibetan Plateau, and is situated within Nagarzê County of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is 32 km long, 14 km wide, and covers an area of 280 km2. Streams of water from the snow-capped surrounding mountains feed the lake, but the lake has no outlet. Some sediment can be seen entering the lake at its western end.

Puma Yumco literally means The Blue Jewel which is floating in the sky. The lake freezes in winter and is crossed by shepherds with their sheep. Since the climate is warming, the ice is becoming thinner and thus creates a problem for the 120 people living off and around the lake.The lake is considered ultraoligotrophic, meaning that nutrient concentrations in both the water column and lake sediments are extremely low. Water in such lakes tends to be blue to blue-green and to have high clarity due to low levels of photosynthesizing organisms such as phytoplankton.