Pangong Tso lake

News: The Indian Army has installed a statue of the Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the banks of Pangong Tso Lake.

About Pangong Tso lake

• It is an endorheic lake (landlocked) located in eastern Ladakh.
• It derives its name from the Tibetan word, “Pangong Tso”, which means “high grassland lake”.
• It lies partly in India’s Ladakh region and partly in Tibet.
• It is the world’s highest saltwater lake.
• The Karakoram Mountain range which crosses Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and India ends at the north bank of Pangong Tso.
• Pangong Tso is also known to change colors, appearing blue, green and red at different times of a day.

Importance of the lake

• The importance of the lake is due to the fact that it lies in the path of the Chushul approach of China.
  • China uses Chushul valley for performing offensive activities into Indian-held territory.
• The legendary 19th century Dogra general Zorawar Singh is said to have trained his soldiers and horses on the frozen Pangong lake before invading Tibet.
• LAC(Line of Actual Control) mostly passes on the land, but Pangong Tso is a unique case where it passes through the water as well.