A dataset of lakes with the area above 10 km2 in northwest China (2000 – 2014)

Abstract: Northwest China is deeply inland, and has a dry climate. The variation of lake area can reflect the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of regional water resources to a certain extent. This data set is based on the comprehensive analysis of meteorological data and the actual coverage of Landsat series satellite images to determine the interpretation time. Referring to the lake data set of "Lake data set of 1:250000 above 1km2 in China（2005-2006）", the 113 lakes were selected as vectorization objects, which are in natural conditions, larger than 10 km2 and non-dry salt lakes. The lake boundary vector data of 15 periods from 2000 to 2014 were extracted by artificial visual interpretation. According to the principle of artificial visual interpretation of the lake area determined by the “Investigation on water quality, water quantity and biological resources of lakes in China” of the special of basic work of science and technology in the Ministry of science and technology, the accuracy of interpretation is controlled within one pixel.The data set includes three parts: (1) boundary vector data of northwest China, and (2) lake boundary vector data from 2000 to 2014, and (3) lake location and area statistics vector file. The data set basically reflects the change in lake’s boundary in northwest China from 2000 to 2014, which can be used as basic data for research on temporal and spatial changes of lakes in the region, climate change, and manual intervention in regional water resources.