Issyk Kul (also
Ysyk Köl,
Issyk-Kol; , , ) is an
endorheicAn endorheic basin is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other bodies of water such as rivers or oceans. Normally the water accruing in drainage basins flows out through surface rivers or by underground diffusion through permeable rock to the oceans...
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
in the northern
Tian ShanThe Tian Shan , also commonly spelled Tien Shan, is a mountain range located in Central Asia...
mountains in eastern
KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a country in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, it is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east....
. It is the
tenth largest lake in the world by volume and the second largest saline lake after the
Caspian SeaThe Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. It has a surface area of 371,000 square kilometres and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometres...
. Although it is surrounded by snow-capped peaks, it never freezes; hence its name, which means "warm lake" in the
Kyrgyz languageKyrgyz or Kirghiz is a Turkic language and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan...
. The lake is a
RamsarThe Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
site of globally significant
biodiversityBiodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems...
(Ramsar Site RDB Code 2KG001) and forms part of the Issyk-Kul
Biosphere ReserveThe UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme was established in 1977 to promote an interdisciplinary approach to research, training and communications in ecosystem conservation and rational use of natural resources.-Development:...
. It is also the site of an ancient metropolis 2500 years ago, and archaeological excavations are ongoing.
Geography
Lake Issyk Kul has a length of , a width of up to , and covers an area of . This makes it the second largest mountain lake in the world behind
Lake TiticacaLake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,812 m above sea level, making it one of the highest commercially navigable lakes in the world. By volume of water it is also the largest lake in South America....
in
South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
. Located at an altitude of , it reaches in depth..
About 118 rivers and streams flow into the lake; the largest are Djyrgalan and Tyup. It is fed by springs, including many
hot springsHot Springs may refer to:* Hot Springs, Arkansas*Hot Springs, California**Hot Springs, Lassen County, California**Hot Springs, Modoc County, California**Hot Springs, Plumas County, California* Hot Springs, Montana* Hot Springs, North Carolina...
, and snow melt-off. The lake has no current outlet, but some hydrologists hypothesize that, deep underground, lake water filters into the
Chu River"Chui River" redirects here. For the South American Chuí or Chuy River, on the Brazil-Uruguay border and Brazil's southernmost point, see Chuí River.The Chu is a river in northern Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan...
. The bottom of the lake contains the mineral
monohydrocalciteMonohydrocalcite is a mineral that is a hydrous form of calcium carbonate, CaCO
3·H
2O. It was formerly also known by the name hydrocalcite, which is now discredited by the IMA. It is a trigonal mineral which is white when pure...
: one of the few known
lacustrineLacustrine means "of a lake" or "relating to a lake".Specifically, it may refer to:*Lacustrine plain*Lacustrine delta-See also:*Limnic, of or relating to freshwater*Palustrine, of or relating to a marsh*Riverine, of or relating to a river...
deposits.
The lake's southern shore is dominated by the ruggedly beautiful
Teskey Ala-Too RangeThe Teskey Ala-Too or Terskey Ala-Too is mountain range in Kyrgyzstan . The highest peak of the range is Yeltsin Peak ....
of the
Tian ShanThe Tian Shan , also commonly spelled Tien Shan, is a mountain range located in Central Asia...
mountains.
The Kyungey Ala-Too Range of the
Tian ShanThe Tian Shan , also commonly spelled Tien Shan, is a mountain range located in Central Asia...
runs parallel to the north shore.
The lake water has
salinitySalinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...
of approx. 0.6%—compare to 3.5% salinity of typical
seawaterSeawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5%. This means that every of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts...
—and its level drops by approximately 5 cm per year.
Administratively, the lake and the adjacent land are within
Issyk Kul Provinceleft|thumb|350px|Issyk Kul at sundownIssyk Kul Province is a province of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol...
of Kyrgyzstan.
Tourism
During the
SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
era, the lake became a popular vacation resort, with numerous
sanatoriaA sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, typically tuberculosis. A distinction is sometimes made between "sanitarium" and "sanatorium" .-History:The rationale for sanatoria was that before antibiotic treatments existed, a regimen of rest and good...
, boarding houses and vacation homes along its northern shore, many concentrated in and around the town of
Cholpon-AtaCholpon-Ata is a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan with a year-round population of about 12,000. It is the administrative center of the Issyk Kul District of Issyk Kul Province; this district occupies most of the lake's north shore...
. These fell on hard times after the break-up of the USSR, but now hotel complexes are being refurbished and simple private bed-and-breakfast pensions are being established for a new generation of health and leisure visitors.
The city of
KarakolKarakol , formerly Przhevalsk, is a city of about 75,000, near the eastern tip of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, about from the Kyrgyzstan-China border and from the capital Bishkek. It is the administrative capital of Issyk Kul Province...
(formerly Przhevalsk, after the
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n explorer Przhevalsky who died there) is the administrative seat of
Issyk Kul Oblastleft|thumb|350px|Issyk Kul at sundownIssyk Kul Province is a province of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol...
(Province) of Kyrgyzstan. It is located near the eastern tip of the lake and is a good base for excursions into the surrounding area. Its small old core contains an impressive wooden
mosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid, —...
, built without metal nails by the Dungan people, and a wooden
OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
church that was used as a stable during Soviet times (see
state atheismState atheism has been defined as the official promotion of atheism by a government, typically by active suppression of religious freedom and practice....
).
History
Lake Issyk Kul was a stopover on the
Silk RoadThe Silk Road is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, as well as North and Northeast Africa and Europe...
, a land route for travelers from the Far East to Europe. Many historians believe that the lake was the point of origin for the
Black DeathThe Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. It is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but this view has recently been challenged...
that plagued
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
and
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
during the early and mid-14th century. The lake's status as a byway for travelers allowed the plague to spread across these continents via medieval merchants who unknowingly carried infested
verminVermin is a term applied to various animal species regarded as pests or nuisances and especially to those associated with the carrying of disease. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included will vary from area to area and even person to person...
along with them. A 14th century Armenian
monasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
was found on the northeastern shores of the lake by retracing the steps of a medieval map used by
VenetianVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
merchants on the
Silk RoadThe Silk Road is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, as well as North and Northeast Africa and Europe...
.
The lake level was some lower in medieval times. Divers have found the remains of drowned settlements in shallow areas around the lake. In December 2007, a report was released by a team of Kyrgyz historians, led by Vladimir Ploskikh, vice president of the
Kyrgyz Academy of SciencesKyrgyz Academy of Sciences , originally part of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, was established as an independent entity by government decree in December 1993...
, that archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 2500-year-old advanced civilization at the bottom of the Lake.
The data and artifacts obtained suggest that the ancient city was a metropolis in its time.
The discovery consisted of formidable walls, some stretching for as well as traces of a large city with an area of several square kilometers.
Other findings included Scythian burial mounds eroded over the centuries by waves, as well as numerous well-preserved artifacts, including bronze battleaxes, arrowheads, self-sharpening daggers, objects discarded by smiths, casting molds, and a faceted gold bar that was a monetary unit of the time.
Articles identified as the world's oldest extant coins were also found underwater with gold wire rings used as small change and a large hexahedral goldpiece. Also found was a bronze
cauldronA cauldron or caldron is a large metal pot for cooking and/or boiling over an open fire, with a large mouth and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger.-Symbolism and mythology:...
with a level of craftsmanship that is today achieved by using an
inert gasAn inert gas is any gas that is not reactive with elements.Unlike noble gases, inert gas is not necessarily elemental and is often a compound gas. Like the noble gases the tendency for non-reactivity is due to the valence, the outermost electron shell, being complete in all the inert gases...
environment.
Fish
The lake contains highly endemic fish biodiversity, and some of the species, including four endemics, are seriously endangered. In recent years catches of all species of fish have declined markedly, due to a combination of over-fishing, heavy predation by two of the introduced species, and the cessation of lake restocking with juvenile fish from hatcheries. At least four commercially targeted endemic fish species are sufficiently threatened to be included in the Red Book of the Kyrgyz Republic: Schmidt's Dace (
Leuciscus schmidti), Issyk-Kul Dace (
Leuciscus bergi), Marinka (
Schizothorax issyk-kuli), and Sheer or Naked Osman (
Diptychus dybovskii). Seven other endemic species are almost certainly threatened as by-catch or are indirectly impacted by fishing activity and changes to the structure and balance of the lake's fish population.
Sevan troutThe Sevan trout is an endemic fish species of Lake Sevan in Armenia. It belongs to the genus Salmo of the salmon family ....
, a fish
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation, or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
to
Lake SevanLake Sevan is the largest lake in Armenia and one of the largest high-altitude lakes in the world.Historical names of the lake include Gegharkunik , Sea of Gegham , Lychnitis and Gokcha . The name Sevan literally means "Black Van" referring to Lake Van in modern Turkey...
in
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, was introduced into Issyk-Kul in the 1970s. While this
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
is an
endangered speciesAn endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. Also it could mean that due to deforestation there may be a lack of food and/or water...
in its "home" lake, it has a much better chance to survive in Lake Issyk-Kul where it has ravaged the indigenous species.
The Legend of its Creation
In pre-
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
ic legend, the king of the Ossounes had donkey's ears. He would hide them, and order each of his barbers killed to hide his secret. One barber yelled the secret into a well, but he didn't cover the well after. The well water rose and flooded the kingdom. The kingdom is today under the waters of Issyk-Kul. This is how the lake was formed, according to the legend. Other legends say that four drowned cities lie at the bottom of the lake. Substantial archaeological finds indicating the presence of an advanced civilization in ancient times have been made in shallow waters of the lake.
Russian Navy test site
During the Soviet period, the Soviet Navy operated an extensive facility at the lake's eastern end, where submarine and torpedo technology was evaluated. In March 2008, Kyrgyz newspapers reported that around the Karabulan peninsula on the lake would be leased for an indefinite period to the Russian Navy, which is planning to establish new naval testing facilities as part of the 2007 bilateral Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation, Mutual Help, and Protection of Secret Materials. The Russian military will pay $4.5 million annually to lease the area.
Lakeside towns
Towns and some villages around the lake, listed clockwise from the lake's western tip:
- Balykchy
Balykchy is a town with a population about 40,000 people located at the western end of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, at and an elevation of about 1,900 meters...
(the railhead at the western end of the lake)
- Koshkol'
Koshkol is a village in the Issyk Kul Province of Kyrgyzstan. The village name has also been transliterated as Kosh-Kël' or Kosh-Kel'....
- Tamchy
Tamchy is a village in the Issyk Kul District of the Issyk Kul Province of Kyrgyzstan. The name used to be transcribed into English as Tamchi, and some local road signs have it, surprisingly, as Tamczy....
- Cholpon-Ata
Cholpon-Ata is a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan with a year-round population of about 12,000. It is the administrative center of the Issyk Kul District of Issyk Kul Province; this district occupies most of the lake's north shore...
(the capital of the north shoreIssyk Kul District is a raion of Issyk Kul Province in north-eastern Kyrgyzstan.The capital lies at Cholpon-Ata. :The district is located on the northern shore of Issyk Kul, which dominates much of the landscape.-Towns and villages:...
)
- Karakol
Karakol , formerly Przhevalsk, is a city of about 75,000, near the eastern tip of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, about from the Kyrgyzstan-China border and from the capital Bishkek. It is the administrative capital of Issyk Kul Province...
(the provincial capital near the eastern end of the lake)
- Tyup
Tyup is a town in the Issyk Kul Province of Kyrgyzstan. It is a road junction town at the northeast corner of Lake Issyk Kul. To the west on A363 is Anan'yevo and to the south Karakol...
- Barskon
Barskon, Barskoon or Barskaun, ancient Barsgan, Barskhan or Barsqan is a small settlement on the southern shore of Lake Issyk Kul in the Issyk Kul Province of Kyrgyzstan...
External links