Abstract: In this paper study, the daily snow product MOD10A1/MYD10A1 data in 2015 and the snow cover duration ratio method were used to extract the snowlines in Xinjiang, and the Kriging interpolation was used to establish the snowline fields in the study area. On which the spatial distribution of snowlines was studied. The results revealed that the mean absolute error (MAE) of snowline field established by the ordinary Kriging interpolation in Xinjiang was 4.49 m, the root mean square error (RMSE) was 48.93 m, and the errors could satisfy the accuracy requirements of this study. The analyzed results of the whole study area revealed that the snowline elevation was low in the north and east but high in the south and west, it varied in a range of 3 000-5 600 m a. s. l., its longitude and latitude zonal distribution patterns were typical, and the snowline fields were dense in the south but sparse in the north. Locally, the snowline elevation was high in the southern and eastern parts but low in the northern and western parts of the Tianshan Mountains; it was high in the central part but low on both sides of the Kunlun Mountain; and it decreased gradually from the northwest to the southeast of the Altay Mountain. The regional snowline distribution was quite different, the internal snowline distribution was complex, and the difference of snowline elevation was significant.

Key words: snowline field, spatial distribution, snow cover duration ratio method, Xinjiang