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Issyk-Kul

File:Issykkul_plyag.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Also known as Ysyk Köl, Issyk-Kol, Issyk Kul, Issigh Kul, Issik-köl, Temurtu Lake, Temurtu Nor, Temu'ertu Nuo'er

Issyk-Kul () or Ysyk-Köl ( ; ) is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tian Shan mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan—just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the eighth-deepest lake in the world, the eleventh-largest lake in the world by volume, and the second-largest saline lake. It is located at an elevation of , making it the deepest lake whose deepest point is above sea level at . Despite the elevation and low temperatures during winter, it rarely freezes due to its high salinity.

AI overview

Issyk-Kul is a large, salty lake located in the Tian Shan mountains of eastern Kyrgyzstan, notable for being one of the world's deepest and largest lakes by volume despite sitting at a high mountain elevation. It rarely freezes in winter because of its high salt content, making it geographically and geologically significant.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Lake.name
Issyk-Kul
Lake.other_name
Temurtu-Nor
Lake.image_bathymetry
Issyk Kul.jpg
Lake.caption_bathymetry
Issyk-Kul from space, September 1992
Lake.lake_type
Ancient lake, EndorheicMountain lakeMonomictic, saline
Lake.inflow
Glaciers
Lake.outflow
Evaporation
Lake.basin_countries
Kyrgyzstan
Lake.cities
Balykchy, Cholpon-Ata, Karakol
Lake.residence_time
~330 years
Lake.salinity
6g/L
Lake.pushpin_map
Kyrgyzstan#West Asia
Lake.pushpin_map_alt
Location of Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan.

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
ancient lake
Country
Kyrgyzstan
Area
6236
Elevation
1606
Image
Issyk Kul.jpg
Width
60
Length
182
Perimeter
688
Show 10 more facts
Commons category
Issyk-Kul
basin country
Kyrgyzstan
volume as quantity
1738
watershed area
21900
residence time of water
305
heritage designation
Ramsar site
vertical depth
668
inflows
Tyup River
on focus list of Wikimedia project
Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
salinity
6
Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

~11 min read

Encyclopedic overview

14 sections
Contents
  • Geography
  • Tourism
  • History
  • Environment
  • Specially protected areas
  • Fish
  • Birds
  • Dead Lake
  • Russian Navy test site
  • Lakeside towns
  • Notable inhabitants
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Issyk-Kul () or Ysyk-Köl ( ; ) is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tian Shan mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan—just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the eighth-deepest lake in the world, the eleventh-largest lake in the world by volume, and the second-largest saline lake. It is located at an elevation of , making it the deepest lake whose deepest point is above sea level at . Despite the elevation and low temperatures during winter, it rarely freezes due to its high salinity.

The lake is a Ramsar site of globally significant biodiversity and forms part of the Issyk-Kul Biosphere Reserve.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Issyk-Kul” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (19)

On the map

3 mapped locations