Hotan River

River

38°05′N 80°34′E / 38.08°N 80.56°E / 38.08; 80.56 MouthTarim River

• coordinates

40°28′43″N 80°56′39″E / 40.478479°N 80.944169°E / 40.478479; 80.944169Basin featuresProgressionTarim→ Taitema Lake

Hotan River

Uyghur name

Uyghur

خوتەن دەرياسى‎

Transcriptions
Latin Yëziqi	Xoten deryasi
Yengi Yeziⱪ	Hotən dəryasi
Siril Yëziqi	Хоtəн дәряси

Chinese name

Chinese

和田河

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Hétián Hé
Wade–Giles	He²-t'ien² He²

Old name

Traditional Chinese

和闐河

Simplified Chinese

和阗河

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Hétián Hé
Wade–Giles	He²-t'ien² He²

The Hotan River (also known as the Khotan River or the Ho-t'ien River) is formed by the union of the White Jade (Yurungkash) and Karakash (Black Jade) Rivers, which flow north from the Kunlun Mountains into the Taklamakan Desert in northern China. The two rivers unite towards the middle of the desert, some 145 kilometres (90 mi) north of the town of Hotan. The river then flows 290 kilometres (180 mi) northwards across the desert and empties itself into the Tarim River.^[2] Because the river is fed by melting snow from the mountains, it only carries water during the summer and is dry the rest of the year. Prior to construction of the Tarim Desert Highway in 1995, the Hotan river bed provided the only transportation system across the Tarim Basin.^[3]

Map including the Hotan River (labeled as Ho-tien Ho) and surrounding region (USATC, 1971)^[a]

Wells

In the mid-20th century, wells along the course of the river included (south to north): Hsüeh-erh-ch'i-k'o-ma, Chi-la-mu-yeh-te-tao, Ai-k'o-t'i-ken, Ch'i-erh-ko-han-t'u-mu-shu-k'o, A-ya-k'o-wu-ssu-tan, Man-ta-t'u-mu-shu-k'o, Lo-tsa-pai-t'u-mu-shu-k'o, Yeh-ma-la-k'o-tao, Po-lo-ch'u-shih-kan, Hsi-t'i-pa-ku-t'an and Ya-erh-te-ku-tzu.^[4]

References

^ http://www.travel-silkroad.com/english/dongfanwenming/history/htsj/gyzkc.htm
^ "Khotan-Darya". 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ The Southwest Taklimakan Desert Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine from NASA's Geomorphology from Space Archived 2006-09-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
^ "NJ 44 Ho-tien". Washington, D. C.: U.S. Army Topographic Command. 1971 – via Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection. Hsüeh-erh-ch'i-k'o-ma (well){...}Chi-la-mu-yeh-te-tao (well){...}Ai-k'o-t'i-ken (well){...}Ch'i-erh-ko-han-t'u-mu-shu-k'o (well){...}A-ya-k'o-wu-ssu-tan (well){...}Man-ta-t'u-mu-shu-k'o (well){...}Lo-tsa-pai-t'u-mu-shu-k'o (well){...}Yeh-ma-la-k'o-tao (well){...}Po-lo-ch'u-shih-kan (well){...}Hsi-t'i-pa-ku-t'an (well){...}Ya-erh-te-ku-tzu (well)