Junggar Pendi

Junggar Pendi or Dzungaria, region of China, in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, between the Tian Mountains on the south and the Altai Mountains on the north. On the west it is bounded by Kazakhstan and on the east by the Republic of Mongolia. A semi-desert basin area, roughly triangular in shape, Junggar Pendi is the source of the Black, Irtysh, and Ili rivers. The name of the region is derived from the Dzungar, one of the tribes under Mongolian rule during the 17th century. In 1759 the Chinese, after long campaigns, conquered and annexed the area, and settled it largely with colonists from China.