Geography and Climate
Linxia Prefecture is located in southwestern central Gansu. It is just south of Lanzhou, and borders Qinghai Province in the west, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the south, and the Dingxi prefecture-level city in the east.
The terrain is highlands, mountains, and loess hills. Elevation averages 2000 meters above sea-level.
The Yellow River, which gets its muddy yellow color from the loess, runs through the northwestern part of the prefecture. Dammed at Liujiaxia (Yongjing County), it forms the large Liujiaxia Reservoir in the north-central part of the county. There is also a smaller Yanguoxia Dam (盐锅峡 水电站 Yán-guō-xiá shuǐ-diàn-zhàn) further downstream, also within Yongjing County.
The Yellow River's main tributaries within the prefecture are the Daxia River and the Tao River. They flow from the neighboring Gannan Prefecture, and fall into the Liujiaxia Reservoir from the southeast. The Tao River also serves as the border with the Dingxi prefecture-level city over some of its length.
The year's average temperature is 8°C and there are only 155 frost-free days a year. The area is semi-arid with annual precipitation of only 442 mm. Total area is 8,169 km².
Read more about this topic: Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture
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