The Tarim Basin contains the vast sand dunes of the Taklimakan Desert. At the feet of the rings of mountains and along rivers are poplar groves. The Tarim River and its feeds--the Aksu, Yarkant(3) and Hotan--flow through the north of the basin. It used to flow into a large salt water lake called Lop Nur(4) but human activities have left it dry.
(1) Or T'a-li-mu.
(2) 'Basin' in Chinese is pendi.
(3) Or Ya-erh-ch'iang or Yarkand.
(4) Or Lo-pu Po.