The reserve is in the county of Rouqiang where the borders of Xinjiang meet with those of Qinghai and Gansu provinces. It covers an area of voer 40000 square kilometers at an average elevation of over 4000 meters. The reserve has a complete highland ecosystem an its natural primitive state is preserved to this day.

The reserve is Paradise to rare wildlife such as the wild camel, considered'the treasured beast of the vast desert', which is a protected specie of the first category. On the grassland of the lake shores can be seenhe herds of wild yak living peacefully side by side with their weaker and smaller cousins .The curious Tibetan wild ass will sometimes catch up with an automobile to get a closer look at it,but the Tibetan antelope,with sword like horns,prefer to race it. In addition, there are the snow leopard, the brown bear, the jackal, the wolf, and the Tibetan fox. Wild fowl such as the snowcock, the chough, the vulture, and others. In the alpine lake at the center of the basin can be seen the mottled-head goose,the brown-head gull and many species of ducks. The Altun Mountain Nature Reserve is the biggest one of its kind in China.