Lake Pelku

Lake Pelku, Pelkhu, or Paiku is a lake at 4591 m elevation on the Tibetan Plateau in Shigatse Prefecture. It is 18 km south of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River, bordering Saga County, Gyirong County, and Nyalam County. The lake is 27 km long and 6 km wide at its narrowest. It is surrounded by mountains reaching 5700 to 6000 m. Streams fed by glaciers cascade to the valley floor, but most sink into alluvial deposits before reaching the lake.

The surrounding catchment is an endorheic basin with no outlet. It would overflow into the Yarlung Tsangpo with a water level about 100 m higher. The lake's brackish water is evidence that it has not overflowed in hundreds, if not thousands, of years.