Hengduan Mountains

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The Hengduan Mountains (Chinese: 横断山脉; Pinyin: Héngduàn Shānmài) is a mountain range in China (Latitude: 22°~32°05'N, Longitude: 97°~ 103°E) in the south-east Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The mountain is situated in Sichuan province, Yunnan province and the eastern Tibet Autonomous Region. The south end of the mountain range forms the border between Burma and the China. The Hengduan Shan chain of mountains runs roughly north to south, defining the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

Largely covered in subalpine conifer forests, elevations range from 1,300 to 4,000 meters. The dense, pristine forest, the relative isolation and the fact that most of the area remained free from glaciation during the ice ages provides a very complex habitat with a high degree of biological diversity. This mountainous region is home to the rare and endangered Giant Panda. Other species native to the mountains are the Chinese yew (Taxus chinensis) and various other rare plants, deer, and primates.

Environmental groups have recognized this ecoregion as being threatened by "a growing human population and the resulting demand for non-timber forests and wildlife products for medicinal and other uses".^[1]

[edit] See also

• Global 200
• World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Traveljournals.net description of Hengduan Shan
• Detailed description of area by David E Boufford, Peter Paul van Dijk and Lu Zhi of Biodiversity Science
• Biodiversity of the Hengduan Mountains Region, China
• PBS NOVA's First Flower discusses botanical diversity in the Hengduan Shan

Coordinates: 27°30′N 99°00′E / 27.5°N 99°E / 27.5; 99