The Dzungarian Basin
Dzungarian Basin,(Chinese: Junggar Pendi), or Dzungaria, an area in Xinjiang Uygur, an autonomous region in northwestern China. It is bordered by Mongolia and Kazakhstan and is virtually surrounded by lofty mountains, primarily ranges of the Tien Shan and Altai Mountains. The Dzungarian Gate, a strategically important mountain pass, connects Dzungaria and Kazakhstan.
Arid to semiarid conditions prevail in the basin. Summers are hot and winters extremely cold. The central part of the basin is sandy desert; the rest consists of scrubby grasslands. Ürümqui, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur, is the largest city in the basin. Petroleum is the region's chief mineral resource. Ethnically, the inhabitants are predominantly non-Chinese, mostly Uygurs and various Turkic and Mongol peoples.