China · Xinjiang · KanasGolden Valley
In late September the Altai larches turn gold, and Tuvan herders bring their animals home for winter.
What you’ll hear
- Lake
- Forest breeze
- Birdsong
In the 3D scene you can change the time, season and weather, or follow the local time.
About this place
Kanas Lake lies deep in the Altai Mountains of northern Xinjiang, in a glacier-carved valley dammed by moraine. Its surface sits at about 1,374 m and it runs some 24 km. The colour follows the seasons: milky in July when glacier melt pours in, jade green in September and October. It freezes in November and doesn’t thaw until April or May.
Larch, spruce and birch cover the slopes, the only stretch of Siberian taiga that reaches into China. Maral deer are the most common large animal; in September and October the stags’ bugling carries down the valley, and nutcrackers rasp in the trees. Tuvan families have herded here for generations, living in houses of stacked logs, and each September they bring their animals down from the summer pastures.
Through the year
A rough guide from published sources, not monthly measurements.
Month by month
- JanuaryFrozen lake, frost-laden trees
- FebruaryStill frozen; skating races are held on the lake
- MarchStill frozen; the days grow longer
- AprilThe ice starts to break up late in the month
- MayIce gone; the water is slate grey
- JuneThe water turns pale green and blue
- JulyGlacier melt turns the lake milky
- AugustSummer rain darkens the lake
- SeptemberThe forest turns gold, peaking late in the month
- OctoberFirst snow often falls early in the month
- NovemberThe lake begins to freeze
- DecemberFrozen over
Four seasons
Late May · Ice-out
The ice has only just gone; the water is still grey and snow lingers up high.
Mid-July · Milky water
Glacier melt is at its peak, the lake turns milky, and horses graze the slopes.
Late September · Gold
Birch and larch glow gold against dark spruce, and the lake clears to jade.
January · Frozen
The lake is a single sheet of ice, its snow combed into ripples, the spruce white with frost.
Best moments
Golden autumn sunset
Sep 24 · 19:15 · Clear
Late September: larch and birch are fully gold, the sunset turns the snow peak pink, and nutcrackers call in the trees.
Autumn at noon
Sep 24 · 14:05 · Clear
The clearest light of the day: golden forest, jade water, and horse bells from the lakeside pasture.
Spring dawn mist
May 20 · 06:15 · Clear
May, just after ice-out: a pink sky before sunrise, thin mist on the water, and the first birds waking.
Sunset after ice-out
May 20 · 21:05 · Clear
In May the water is milky, the sun sets after nine, and the snow peak glows pink.
Spring blue hour
May 20 · 22:30 · Clear
Half an hour after sunset the sky sinks from violet to deep blue, and the valley quiets to wind and water.
Summer rain
Jul 15 · 16:50 · Rain
A July afternoon shower: rain on the green lake, the mountains fading into mist. One for listening.
Frost under a blue sky
Jan 18 · 12:25 · Clear
January: the lake is one sheet of ice, the spruce heavy with frost, and under a blue sky only wind and the odd tit calling.
Sunset on the frozen lake
Jan 18 · 18:00 · Clear
In winter the sun sets by six, turning the ice and snow slopes pink as the air drops well below −10°C.
Cabins in the snow
Jan 18 · 12:25 · Clear · Cabins across the lake
Two Tuvan cabins on the far slope sit deep in snow, smoke rising, the frozen lake below.
Lamplight and the Milky Way
Jan 18 · 22:30 · Clear · Cabins across the lake
A moonless winter night: lamplight in the cabin windows and the Milky Way rising over the peak.
Winter Milky Way
Jan 18 · 22:30 · Clear · Skyward
Look up at the winter sky: the January Milky Way is especially clear, and the valley is almost silent.
An artistic re-creation of the Kanas landscape rather than surveyed terrain; some sounds are recordings from elsewhere.
In the 3D scene you can change the time, season and weather, or follow the local time.
Enter sceneMore to explore
See all places
Valley of Waterfalls
Switzerland · Lauterbrunnen
Follow the meadow stream and listen to the waterfalls.
795 mWaterfallStreamCowbells
Rain on the Lotus Pond
China · Hangzhou
Listen beneath the pavilion as rain falls on lotus leaves.
7 mRain on leavesEave dripsFrogs
Cabin on Kenai Lake
USA · Alaska · Kenai Lake
A moose wades past the cabin on a turquoise glacial lake.
133 mLakeWind in spruceLoon