Despite this lower elevation, Qaidam is still high enough that its mean annual temperature is 2–4 °C (36–39 °F)[4] despite lying on the same latitude as Algeria, Greece, and Virginia in the United States.

In the north, a number of smaller ridges like the Shulenanshan separate it from another higher plateau, which usually referenced by the name of its northern escarpment, the Qilian or Nanshan.

Presently, there are four main playas in the basin: Qarhan in the southeast and (from north to south) Kunteyi, Chahanshilatu, and Dalangtan in the northwest.

[18] A great lake slowly formed in the western basin, which two major tectonic movements raised and cut off from its original sources of sediment.

Nutrient-rich inflows contributed to plankton blooms, which supported an ecosystem that built up reserves of organic carbon.

[5] By 12 Ma, the climate had dried enough to break Qaidam's single lake into separate basins, which frequently became saline.

[10] During this time, the record's glacial intervals suggest a low-temperature climate[18] and its sandstone yardangs attest to strong winds.

[20] Pollen studies suggest the bed of Dabusun Lake in the Qarhan Playa—nearly the lowest point of the basin—was elevated about 700 m (2,300 ft) within the last 500,000 years.

[9] Beneath the salt, Qaidam is one of China's nine most important petroliferous basins[26] and its largest center of onshore production.

[28] Annual production capacity is about 2 million metric tons of petroleum and 8.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

The Xining-Golmud rail line (the first stage of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway), which crossed the eastern part of the Qaidam Basin in the early 1980s, is an essential transportation link for accessing the region's mineral resources.