Abstract: The Altay Mountains is situated in the northernmost part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and has numerous glaciers in the highest latitude in China. Glaciers in this region had been experiencing dramatic recessions due to global warming. Based on the First Chinese Glacier Inventory (FCGI), the Second Chinese Glacier Inventory (SCGI), Landsat OLI images and SRTM DEM (V4.1), the centerlines of glaciers in different periods were extracted using GIS technology, then their main geometrical parameters (e.g., the maximum of lengths or the mean of lengths) were obtained. This dataset includes two parts: 1) glacier boundary vector files in 2016 in Chinese Altay Mountains; 2) glacier centerlines vector files in 1959, 2006 and 2016 in Chinese Altay Mountains. This dataset can reflect the changes of glaciers in Chinese Altay Mountains from 1959 to 2016 and has important values for some studies such as regional glacier changes, climate changes, etc.
Keywords: glacier length; glacier centerline; glacier inventory; Altay Mountains