Two giant groundwater reservoirs have been discovered in the Qaidam Basin, China's highest basin on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, said geologists Thursday.

The reservoirs under alluvial cones in Golmud and Delingha areas had a stunning total storage capacity of 2.8 billion cubic meters, said Luo Yinfei, an official with environment and geological prospecting bureau of Qinghai Province.

About 465 million cubic meters of groundwater in the reservoirs could be used every year, Luo said.

"It is a rare discovery of such huge water reserves in an inland basin," Luo said, adding about one third of the basin was desert.

The Qaidam Basin, with an average altitude of 3,000 meters, was abundant in natural reserves such as salt, oil, coal and gas.

The ample water supply would greatly facilitate the exploration of natural resources in the basin, Luo said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2010)