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Kyrgyzstan
Topography and Drainage
The mountains of Kyrgyzstan are geologically young, so that the
physical terrain is marked by sharply uplifted peaks separated
by deep valleys (see fig. 9). There is also considerable glaciation.
Kyrgyzstan's 6,500 distinct glaciers are estimated to hold about
650 billion cubic meters of water. Only around the Chu, Talas,
and Fergana valleys is there relatively flat land suitable for
large-scale agriculture.
Because the high peaks function as moisture catchers, Kyrgyzstan
is relatively well watered by the streams that descend from them.
None of the rivers of Kyrgyzstan are navigable, however. The majority
are small, rapid, runoff streams. Most of Kyrgyzstan's rivers
are tributaries of the Syrdariya, which has its headwaters in
the western Tian Shan along the Chinese border. Another large
runoff system forms the Chu River, which arises in northern Kyrgyzstan,
then flows northwest and disappears into the deserts of southern
Kazakstan. Ysyk-Köl is the second largest body of water in Central
Asia, after the Aral Sea, but the saline lake has been shrinking
steadily, and its mineral content has been rising gradually. Kyrgyzstan
has a total of about 2,000 lakes with a total surface area of
7,000 square kilometers, mostly located at altitudes of 3,000
to 4,000 meters. Only the largest three, however, occupy more
than 500 square kilometers. The second- and third-largest lakes,
Songköl and Chatyr-Köl (the latter of which also is saline), are
located in the Naryn Basin.
Natural disasters have been frequent and varied. Overgrazing
and deforestation of steep mountain slopes have increased the
occurrence of mudslides and avalanches, which occasionally have
swallowed entire villages. In August 1992, a severe earthquake
left several thousand people homeless in the southwestern city
of Jalal-Abad.
Data as of March 1996
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