 Human habitation and irrigated agriculture in this arid area are made possible primarily by streams flowing south from the Bogda Shan range, which is located on the northern border of the district.The water that is not used up for irrigation locally flows into the district's several small lakes (Yanhu, Xiao Yanhu and Chaiwopu Lake) or down the Baichang River into the Toksun County.“It showed me the utter barrenness of the slopes of gravel and decayed rock over which the ascent is made from the Turfān depression to the watershed ; the remarkably low elevation of the latter, which on the plateau of Ta-fan-ch’êng [= Dawan Cheng] scarcely rises above 3,000 feet ; and the ease of communication secured by this route between the Turfān basin and Dzungaria.