Orographically, the Qaidam Basin is a comparatively low area in the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau.
With an elevation of around 3,000 m (10,000 ft), Qaidam forms a kind of shelf between Tibet to the south (around 4,300 m or 14,000 ft) and Gansu to the north (around 1,100 m or 3,500 ft).
A low water divide separates the Qaidam Basin proper from that of Qinghai Lake to the east.
Despite this lower elevation, Qaidam is still high enough that its mean annual temperature is 2–4 °C (36–39 °F) despite lying on the same latitude as Algeria, Greece, and Virginia in the United States.

The crescent-shaped basin covers an area of approximately 120,000 km² (46,000 sq mi).
Its substrate is broadly divided into three blocks: the Mangya Depression, a northern fault zone, and the Sanhu Depression.
Qaidam is an intermontane basin, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges.
In the south, the Kunlun Mountains separate it from the higher central section of the Tibetan Plateau.
In the north, a number of smaller ridges like the Shulenanshan separate it from another higher plateau, which usually referenced by the name of its northern escarpment, the Qilian or Nanshan.
In the northwest, the Altyn-Tagh separates it from the Kumtagh Desert of southeastern Xinjiang.

 
Because of this position, Qaidam forms an endorheic basin accumulating lakes with no outlet to the sea.
The area is among the most arid non-polar locations on earth, with some places reporting an aridity index of 0.008–0.04.
Across the entire basin, the mean annual rainfall is 26 mm (1 in) but the mean annual evaporation is 3,000–3,200 mm (120–130 in).
Because of the low rainfall, these lakes have become saline or dried up completely.
Presently, there are four main playas in the basin: Qarhan in the southeast and (from north to south) Kunteyi, Chahanshilatu, and Dalangtan in the northwest.
These playas and a few other saline lakes occupy over one-fourth of the basin, with the sediments deposited since the Jurassic as deep as 10 to 14 km (6–9 mi) in places despite tectonic activity having repeatedly shifted the center of the region's sedimentation.
The seasonal nature and commercial exploitation of some of the lakes makes an exact count problematic: one count reckoned there were 27 lakes in the basin, another reckoned 43 with a total area of 16,509 km² (6,374 sq mi).

The aridity, salinity, wide diurnal and seasonal temperature swings, and relatively high ultraviolet radiation has led to Qaidam being studied by the China Geological Survey as a Mars analogue for use in testing spectroscopy and equipment for China's 2020 Mars rover program.
Orographically, the Qaidam Basin is a comparatively low area in the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. With an elevation of around 3,000 m (10,000 ft), Qaidam forms a kind of shelf between Tibet to the south (around 4,300 m or 14,000 ft) and Gansu to the north (around 1,100 m or 3,500 ft). A low water divide separates the Qaidam Basin proper from that of Qinghai Lake to the east. Despite this lower elevation, Qaidam is still high enough that its mean annual temperature is 2–4 °C (36–39 °F) despite lying on the same latitude as Algeria, Greece, and Virginia in the United States.
The crescent-shaped basin covers an area of approximately 120,000 km² (46,000 sq mi). Its substrate is broadly divided into three blocks: the Mangya Depression, a northern fault zone, and the Sanhu Depression. Qaidam is an intermontane basin, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges. In the south, the Kunlun Mountains separate it from the higher central section of the Tibetan Plateau. In the north, a number of smaller ridges like the Shulenanshan separate it from another higher plateau, which usually referenced by the name of its northern escarpment, the Qilian or Nanshan. In the northwest, the Altyn-Tagh separates it from the Kumtagh Desert of southeastern Xinjiang.
 
Because of this position, Qaidam forms an endorheic basin accumulating lakes with no outlet to the sea. The area is among the most arid non-polar locations on earth, with some places reporting an aridity index of 0.008–0.04. Across the entire basin, the mean annual rainfall is 26 mm (1 in) but the mean annual evaporation is 3,000–3,200 mm (120–130 in). Because of the low rainfall, these lakes have become saline or dried up completely. Presently, there are four main playas in the basin: Qarhan in the southeast and (from north to south) Kunteyi, Chahanshilatu, and Dalangtan in the northwest. These playas and a few other saline lakes occupy over one-fourth of the basin, with the sediments deposited since the Jurassic as deep as 10 to 14 km (6–9 mi) in places despite tectonic activity having repeatedly shifted the center of the region's sedimentation. The seasonal nature and commercial exploitation of some of the lakes makes an exact count problematic: one count reckoned there were 27 lakes in the basin, another reckoned 43 with a total area of 16,509 km² (6,374 sq mi).
The aridity, salinity, wide diurnal and seasonal temperature swings, and relatively high ultraviolet radiation has led to Qaidam being studied by the China Geological Survey as a Mars analogue for use in testing spectroscopy and equipment for China's 2020 Mars rover program.
Qaidam Basin