China

The Bogeda Biosphere Reserve is located in the eastern region of the Tianshan Mountains. Local residents named the area the Sangong River Valley after one of the largest rivers in this region, which originates from Bogeda Peak. Altogether, five major landscapes are distributed throughout the northern and southern areas of the biosphere reserve: ice-snow belts (5,445–3,100 metres above sea level), alpine and sub-alpine meadow belts (3,100–2,500 metres asl), forest belts (2,500–1,600 metres asl), steppe belts (1,700–900 metres asl) and sand desert dunes (460–3,300 metres asl). The topography consists of a middle mountain belt, low mountain erosion hills and alluvial areas. Tianchi Lake is the only natural lake in the region and lies adjacent to the Sangong River.