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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Kyrgyzstan
Index
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 (photos | news) 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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