A dataset of boundaries data of the lakes (≥1.0 km2) in Qinghai Province in 2020

Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai Province (31°39′–39°19′N, 89°35′–103°04′E) is the source region of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Lantsang River. It is known as the China Water Tower. Contemporary survey of lakes in Qinghai Province is of great significance for understanding the impacts of climate change and promoting the ecological civilization construction. Based on Sentinel-2A/2B MSI images acquired in 2020, we first extracted the pixels of water body on account of the feature that the normalized difference water index (NDWI) greater than the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Then we built the vector dataset of lake boundary with an area above 1.0 km2 in Qinghai Province after manual inspection and revision. Some attributes of the lake including its name, area, elevation, basin, administration and date were also attached. This dataset reflects the distribution of lakes in Qinghai Province in 2020, and can be used as a data source and scientific basis for researches on lake ecological protection, rational use of regional water resources, disaster prevention and mitigation in Qinghai Province.