Kanasi Lake,West China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Area: 44.78 square kilometers; 1,340 meters above sea level

The Chinese National Geography describes the lake as "God's palette" because of its rich variety of colors. When the water is clear, you can see a blue and green lake; underneath the thin clouds, Kanas Lake is pink; and when it is overcast, the lake is blue and grey.

China's deepest fresh water lake (184 meters at one spot), Kanas Lake was formed 200,000 years ago. The region is home to 798 species of plants and 117 varieties of birds. Living in the midst of this beauty are more than 1,400 people of the Tuva Minority, whose ancestors came from Siberia more than 1,000 years ago.

The Siberian Taiga Forest extends into the Kanas region, the only region with arctic Euro-Siberian wildlife.

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