JUSTIFICATION for the draft Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On Glaciers of the Kyrgyz Republic" The Kyrgyz Republic, occupying almost the entire western half of the powerful intra-continental mountain system of the Tien Shan and partially the Pamir-Alai ranges, has well-developed glaciation. Glaciers are one of the natural riches of the republic, the value of which is hard to overestimate, primarily due to their ability to maintain a sufficiently high water flow in most rivers even in
The Kolpakovsky Glacier is the most significant glacier of the Terkey-Ala-Too range. Its length is about 12 km, consisting of three branches with separate powerful accumulation areas, which represent extensive snow plateaus at an altitude of 4300-4400 meters, dropping to the north with elongated walls. To the south, the glacier gently descends to the moraines, making it wide and mostly calm, forming a small icefall only in the middle part. Right in the center of the glacier, about 20 meters
CHARACTERISTICS OF GLACIERS IN RIVER BASINS To provide a complete understanding of the glaciation in the upper reaches of the Sarydzhaz River, we present brief characteristics of glaciation in the basins of its tributary rivers. Basin of the Otyuka River (glaciers No. 1 — 18).
Archa-Bashi Glacier on the Alai Range The Archa-Bashi Glacier is large and dendritic, located at the western foothills of the Tandy-Kul peaks (5539 m) and Snowy Shelter (5529 m) — both geographically belong to the High Alai. The polluted morainic trunk of Archa-Bashi has carved a distance of almost 6 km between the sheer walls of the spurs. The end of the glacier is situated at an altitude of approximately 3000 m. The gentle firn fields of the glacier's branches lie at the ridges, like on
Ak-Sai Glacier The glacier is located 40 km from Bishkek in the picturesque Ala-Archa gorge at an altitude of 3500 meters above sea level, within the Ala-Archa National Park. This gorge is the largest of all the gorges of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range (part of the Tien Shan mountain system), with a length of over 35 km. The 5 km long Ak-Sai Glacier is the most beautiful of the largest glaciers in the range: Golubina, Top-Karagay, Tuyuk, Adygene, and Ala-Archa. The glacier and the waterfall of the
General Characteristics of Glaciation According to satellite images from "Landsat-8" for the years 2013-2016, there are a total of 9,959 glaciers in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, covering an area of 6,683.9 km², including: 6,227 glaciers larger than 0.1 km², with a total area of 6,494.0 km², and 3,732 glaciers smaller than 0.1 km², covering an area of 189.9 km². According to the Catalog of Glaciers of the USSR (1940s-1970s), there were 8,164 glaciers in the territory of the
Komarov Glacier (Ak-Sai), Kokshaalsky Ridge The first survey of the glaciation in this area was conducted by N. N. Palgov in 1928, so we refer to his article. The glaciers of the upper reaches of the Ak-Sai River flow down from Kok-Shal-Tau onto a wide plateau known as the Kogaly-Chap area. The relief of this plateau-lake, with its huge boulders, reveals its glacial origin. Therefore, all the glaciers of the upper Ak-Sai can be considered remnants of an ancient glacier that, in its final
The Nura Glacier is located in the basin of the Eastern Kyzylsu River A large complex valley glacier formed from small and medium glaciers flowing from different sides into the main trunk, glacier 85,86. The glacier is gentle, closed, and has crevasses. The overall short and passive tongue is covered by a thick layer of moraine, containing buried and dead ice. The end of the tongue transitions into dissected loose deposits of significant thickness with deep incisions from modern flows. The
Kyzylsu - Red Water The Kyzylsu Glacier (often referred to as the Eastern Kyzylsu) is a complex valley glacier of the Eastern Zaalai. It is 15.1 km long and covers an area of 43.0 sq. km. The height of the glacier's tongue is 3780 m, and the firn line is at 4500 m. The main flow of the glacier extends from the southwest to the northeast and has a three-chamber accumulation area. These chambers are located on the northern slopes of the Kulumdy (6613) and Chorku (6283) peaks. The glacier
Zvezdochka The Zvezdochka Glacier flows into the Inylchek Glacier, 40 km from the tongue of the latter, and is the most powerful of its southern (left) tributaries. The elevation at the confluence of the Zvezdochka Glacier is 4000 m above sea level, and its width reaches 3 km, which is almost the same as that of the Southern Inylchek Glacier. The total length of the Zvezdochka Glacier is 20 km. The glacier is sharply divided into two parts: the upper and lower sections. The upper part runs
Koy-Kap - Glacier in the Khan-Tengri Massif The Kaindy Ridge, which separates the valleys of the Kaindy and Koy-Kap glaciers, adjoins the Inylchek-Tau ridge in the area of the Red Army Peak in the eastern part. The northern slopes of the ridge have significant glaciation. In the wide lateral valleys of the ridge, there are relatively large (3-7 km long) valley glaciers. The southern slope of the ridge has less glaciation and a steep gradient; it is cut by narrow canyon-like gorges through
Glaciers of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too The highlands of the Kyrgyz Range feature a deeply dissected alpine relief, which results in a variety of glacier forms. The majority of glaciers belong to the cirque and valley types, with many hanging glaciers and various transitional forms. Many glaciers over different areas are covered with debris, and almost all have powerful modern moraines. Extensive zones of fractures, icefalls, and ice dumps are often encountered. The Karamoynok Range is characterized by
Nalivkin Glacier. One of the right tributaries of the largest glacier in Pamir, Fedchenko Glacier. It is located in the valley between the North Tanymas and Aral ridges. The main flow of the glacier is connected into one system with the North Tanymas Glacier through the ice divide. The varying width of the Nalivkin Glacier flow at the right bank of the main trunk of the Fedchenko Glacier below the confluence indicates uneven ice supply. Its right tributaries — glaciers 25, 26, 28, 29, and 30 —
Slow Retreat of the Abramov Glacier The Abramov Glacier in the Pamir-Alai mountains is one of the most picturesque and well-studied glaciers in the world. From 1967 to the 1990s, various very interesting studies were conducted on it. We are conducting our research in collaboration with the Central Asian Institute of Applied Earth Research. According to our observations, the melting of this glacier is occurring more slowly than in the Tian Shan mountains. However, opinions on this matter are
Golubina Glacier The Golubina Glacier is of the valley type and is located on the northern slope of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too range, in the basin of the Ala-Archa River (a left tributary of the Chu River). With an area of 6.2 km², its length exceeds 5 km. The highest point of the glacier basin is at an altitude of 4220 m, and the firn line is at an altitude of 3860 m. The firn basin of the glacier is a vast hollow, approximately 3 km in diameter, surrounded by snow-covered rocks. At the exit from the
Lenin Glacier — a mountain valley glacier on the northern slope of the Zaalai Range (Pamirs), in Kyrgyzstan (Osh region). The length of the glacier is 13.5 km, and its area is 55.3 km². An extensive firn basin lies at the foot of Lenin Peak (7134 m), with the firn line at an altitude of 5300 m. The tongue of the glacier descends to 3760 m, from where the Achi-Tash River begins, a left tributary of the Kyzylsu. The right tributary of the glacier is pulsating: in 1945 and 1969, it cracked and
Petrov Glacier - a glacier in Central Tien Shan On a small area of the Ak-Shiyrak mountain range, glaciers and snow cover are spread over two major river basins of Kyrgyzstan — the Sary-Jaz and Naryn rivers. In an area measuring 30 x 40 km, glaciers cover 435 km², which accounts for 44% of the area. The total number of glaciers is 154. The largest is the Petrov Glacier. Petrov Glacier is a glacier in Central Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Akshiyrak mountains. It is the source of the
The Greatest Glacier of Pamir On August 22, 1953, eight climbers from the Pamir expedition of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions — A.S. Ugarov, A.S. Gozhev, L.M. Krasavin, P.K. Skorobogatov, B.D. Dmitriev, A.I. Kovyrkov, E.M. Ryspaev, and R.M. Selidjanov — reached the summit of Mount Evgeniya Korzhenevskaya — 7105 m. Soviet high-altitude climbers conquered the last, third highest seven-thousander of Pamir, following the peaks of Lenin and Stalin, the fourth highest peak in the USSR.
Semenov Glacier - the basin of the upper reaches of the Sarydjaz River. This basin includes the glaciers at the sources of the Sarydjaz River and the glaciers on the northern slope of the Aydyrtor ridge, excluding its western section — the basin of the Turegeldyn River. There are 44 glaciers in the basin with a total area of 118.5 km². Of these, 64.1 km² belongs to the Semenov Glacier system, which originates on the northwestern slopes of Semenov Peak, at the junction of the Terkey-Alatau and
Mushketov Glacier A valley tree-like glacier in the Central Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan (Issyk-Kul region), located on the northern slope of the Sarydjaz ridge, at the sources of the Aditor River, a left tributary of the Sarydjaz River. The length of the glacier is 20.5 km, with a width ranging from 1 to 1.8 km. The area is 68.7 square kilometers. The feeding area lies in a huge cirque at an altitude of 4500 to 5500 meters above sea level, with the firn line at an altitude of 4100 meters above sea
Kainy Between Kokshaal-Tau and Kainy-Katta lies the powerful Kuyakap Glacier, and between Kainy-Katta and Inylchek-Tau lies the enormous Kainy Glacier, the younger sibling of Inylchek, the second largest glacier in the region. The glacier is located on the southwestern edge of the Kan-Tenir ridge. It is bordered to the north by the Enilchek-Tuu ridge and to the south by the Kainy ridge of the same name. The length of the glacier is 25.8 kilometers, and its area is 107.5 square kilometers, of
South Inylchek "Inylchek" in Old Turkic means "little prince." But the "prince" turned out to be quite large. The Inylchek glacier is divided into North and South. So, South Inylchek is the largest glacier in the Tien Shan and the second largest mountain glacier in the CIS countries after the Fedchenko glacier in the Pamirs. Its length is slightly less than that of the colossal glaciers of the Karakoram, such as Siachen, Biafo, Baltoro, and Batura. It is located
The territory of Kyrgyzstan is predominantly mountainous, with peaks almost everywhere reaching the climatic line, and in most mountain ranges, the ridge zone is covered with temporary glaciation. An important place in the natural resources of Kyrgyzstan is occupied by the potential resources of glaciers, as a source of the purest fresh water and one of the main sources of river feeding. The total water reserves stored in glaciers are estimated at 650 km³. By these indicators, Kyrgyzstan can
Kyrgyz Ridge - the most glaciated area in the northern part of our republic. However, despite this and its proximity to the capital of the republic, it remained unexplored for a long time. Essentially, one of the first researchers of the glaciation of this ridge, who calculated the area of glaciers, was H.L. Korzhenyevsky (1930; 1932). However, a significant contribution to the study of the glaciers of the Kyrgyz Ridge was made by the Leningrad geographer E.V. Maximov (1964, 1972).
