The Tian Shan,[a] also known as the Tengri Tagh[citation needed] or Tengir-Too,[1] meaning the Mountains of Heaven or the Heavenly Mountain, is a large system of mountain ranges located in Central Asia. The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Jengish Chokusu, at 7,439 metres (24,406 ft) high. Its lowest point is the Turpan Depression, which sits at 154 m (505 ft) below sea level.[2]
The Chinese name for Tian Shan may have been derived from the Xiongnu word Qilian (simplified Chinese: 祁连; traditional Chinese: 祁連; pinyin: Qí lián) – according to Tang commentator Yan Shigu, Qilian is the Xiongnu word for sky or heaven.[3]Sima Qian in the Records of the Grand Historian mentioned Qilian in relation to the homeland of the Yuezhi, and the term is believed to refer to the Tian Shan rather than the Qilian Mountains 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) further east now known by this name.[4][5] The Tannu-Ola mountains in Tuva has the same meaning in its name ("heaven/celestial mountains" or "god/spirit mountains"). Tian Shan is sacred in Tengrism, and its second-highest peak is known as Khan Tengri which may be translated as "Lord of the Spirits".[6]
In Western cartography as noted by the National Geographic Society, the eastern end of the Tian Shan is usually understood to be east of Ürümqi, with the range to the east of that city known as the Bogda Shan as part of the Tian Shan. Chinese cartography from the Han Dynasty to the present agrees, with the Tian Shan including the Bogda Shan and Barkol ranges.
Tian Shan Mountains from space, October 1997, with Issyk-Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan at the northern end
The Tian Shan are a part of the Himalayanorogenic belt, which was formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates in the Cenozoic era. They are one of the longest mountain ranges in Central Asia and stretch some 2,900 kilometres (1,800 mi) eastward from Tashkent in Uzbekistan.[2]
The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Jengish Chokusu (also called Victory Peak) on the border of China. At 7,439 metres (24,406 ft) high, it is the highest point in Kyrgyzstan.[2] The Tian Shan's second highest peak, Khan Tengri (Lord of the Spirits), straddles the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border and at 7,010 metres (23,000 ft) is the highest point of Kazakhstan. Mountaineers class these as the two most northerly peaks over 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) in the world.
The Torugart Pass, at 3,752 metres (12,310 ft), is located at the border between Kyrgyzstan and China's Xinjiang province. The forested Alatau ranges, which are at a lower altitude in the northern part of the Tian Shan, are inhabited by pastoral tribes that speak Turkic languages.
The major rivers rising in the Tian Shan are the Syr Darya, the Ili River and the Tarim River. The Aksu Canyon is a notable feature in the northwestern Tian Shan.
Continuous permafrost is typically found in the Tian Shan starting at the elevation of about 3,500-3,700 m above the sea level. Discontinuous alpine permafrost usually occurs down to 2,700-3,300 m, but in certain locations, due to the peculiarity of the aspect and the microclimate, it can be found at elevations as low as 2,000 m.[7]
One of the first Europeans to visit and the first to describe the Tian Shan in detail was the Russian explorer Peter Semenov, who did so in the 1850s.
Glaciers in the Tian Shan Mountains have been rapidly shrinking and have lost 27%, or 5.4 billion tons annually, of its ice mass since 1961 compared to an average of 7% worldwide.[8] It is estimated that by 2050 half of the remaining glaciers will have melted.
The Tian Shan have a number of named ranges which are often mentioned separately (all distances are approximate).
Tian Shan with the ancient silk road
In China the Tian Shan starts north of Kumul City (Hami) with the U-shaped Barkol Mountains, from about 600 to 400 kilometres (370 to 250 mi) east of Ürümqi. Then the Bogda Shan (god mountains) run from 350 to 40 kilometres (217 to 25 mi) east of Ürümqi. Then there is a low area between Ürümqi and the Turfan Depression. The Borohoro Mountains start just south of Ürümqi and run west northwest 450 kilometres (280 mi) separating Dzungaria from the Ili River basin. Their north end abuts on the 200 kilometres (120 mi) Dzungarian Alatau which run east northeast along Sino-Kazakh border. They start 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Taldykorgan in Kazakhstan and end at the Dzungarian Gate. The Dzungarian Alatau in the north, the Borohoro Mountains in the middle and the Ketmen Range in the south make a reversed Z or S, the northeast enclosing part of Dzungaria and the southwest enclosing the upper Ili valley.
Kyrgyzstan (borders marked in red) The indentation on the west is the Fergana Valley
Snow-capped peaks of Tian Shan seen from an Issyk Kul Lake beach
In Kyrgyzstan the main line of the Tian Shan continues as Narat Range from the base of the Borohoros west 570 kilometres (350 mi) to the point where China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan meet. Here is the highest part of the range – the Central Tian Shan, with Peak Pobeda (Kakshaal Too range) and Khan Tengri. West of this, the Tian Shan split into an ‘eye’, with Issyk Kul Lake in its center. The south side of the lake is the Terskey Alatau and the north side the Kyungey Ala-Too (shady and sunny Ala-Too). North of the Kyungey Ala-Too and parallel to it is the Trans-Ili Alatau in Kazakhstan just south of Almaty. West of the eye, the range continues 400 kilometres (250 mi) as the Kyrgyz Ala-Too, separating Chui Province from Naryn Oblast and then Kazakhstan from the Talas Province. This oblast is the upper valley of the Talas River, the south side of which is the 200 kilometres (120 mi) Talas Ala-Too Range ('Ala-too' is a Kirgiz spelling of Alatau). At the east end of the Talas Alatau the Suusamyr Too range runs southeast enclosing the Suusamyr Valley or plateau.
As for the area south of the Fergana Valley there is a 800 kilometres (500 mi) group of mountains that curves west-southwest from south of Issyk Kul Lake separating the Tarim Basin from the Fergana Valley. The Fergana Range runs northeast towards the Talas Ala-Too and separaties the upper Naryn basin from Fergana proper. The southern side of these mountains merge into the Pamirs in Tajikistan (Alay Mountains and Trans-Alay Range). West of this is the Turkestan Range, which continues almost to Samarkand.
On the north margin of the Tarim basin between the mountain chain of the Kokshaal-Tau in the south and that one of the Terskey Alatau in the north there stretches the 100 to 120 km wide Tian Shan plateau with its set up mountain landscape.The Kokshaal-Tau continues with an overall length of 570 km from W of Pik Dankowa (Dankov, 5986 m) up to east-north-east to Pik Pobedi (Tumor Feng, 7439 m) and beyond it. This mountain chain as well as that of the 300 km long parallel mountain chain of the Terskey Alatau and the Tian Shan plateau situated in between, during glacial times were covered by connected ice-stream-networks and a plateau glacier. Currently the interglacial remnant of this glaciation is formed by the only just 61 km long South Inylschek glacier. The outlet glacier tongues of the plateau glacier flowed to the north as far as down to Lake Issyk Kul (Lake) at 1605 (1609) m asl calving in this 160 km long lake.
In the same way strongly glaciated was the in excess of 50 km wide high mountain area of the Kungey Alatau connected north of Issyk Kul and stretching as far as the mountain foreland near Alma Ata. The Kungey Alatau is 230 km long. Down from the Kungey Alatau the glacial glaciers also calved into the Issyk Kul lake.Its Chon-Kemin valley was glaciated up to its inflow into the Chu valley.[9][10][11] From the west-elongation of the Kungey Alatau –that is the Kirgizskiy Alatau range (42°25’N/74° - 75°E) - the glacial glaciers flowed down as far as into the mountain foreland down to 900 m asl (close to the town Bishkek). Among others the Ak-Sai valley glacier has developed there a mountain foreland glacier.[9][12][11]
Altogether the glacial Tian Shan glaciation occupied an area of c. 118 000 km² .The glacier snowline (ELA) as altitude limit between glacier feeding area and melting zone had decreased about 1200 altitude metres compared with today.
Under the condition of a comparable precipitation ratio there would result from this a depression of the average annual temperature of 7.2 to 8.4 °C for the Würm-ice age (Last Glacial period = MIS 2) compared with today.
[9]
The Tian Shan holds important forests of Schrenk's Spruce (Picea schrenkiana) at altitudes of over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft); the lower slopes have unique natural forests of wild walnuts and apples.[13]
The Tian Shan in its immediate geological past, was kept from glaciation due to the "protecting" warm influence of the Indian Oceanmonsoon climate. This defined its ecological features which could sustain its distinctive of ecosphere. The mountains were subjected to constant geological changes with constantly evolving drainage systems which affected the patterns of vegetation, as well as exposing fertile soil for newly emerging seedlings to thrive in.
Ancestors of important crop vegetation were established and thrived in the area, among them: apricots (Prunus armeniaca), pears (Pyrus spp.), pomegranates (Punica granatum), figs (Ficus), cherries (Prunus avium) and mulberries (Morus). The Tian Shan region also included important animals like bear, deer and wild boar, which helped to spread seeds and expand the ecological diversity.
Among the vegetation colonizing the Tian Shan came, likely via birds from the east, the ancestors of what we know as the “sweet” apple. The fruit
probably then looked like a tiny, longstalked, bitter apple something like Malus baccata, the Siberian crab. The pips may have been carried in a bird’s crop or clotted onto feet or feathers.
"What natural features of the unique Tian Shan might have contributed to this rigorous selection program? Time is, as we have seen, not a problem. The turnover of individual trees is likewise conducive to the rapid evolution of a tree species, as is the fact that sweet apples are now, at least for all practical purposes, self-incompatible—that is, they cannot pollinate themselves. Therefore each apple tree within the forest and even each pip, usually five, within each individual fruit will be different. There are many apples on a mature tree, so natural selection has a rich and diverse population upon which to work. Birds, of course, eat all manner of fruit. But most birds eat seeds—a dietary feature not conducive either to the selection or spread of a fruit tree. Sweet apples are often eviscerated by birds, but the seeds are frequently left in the empty shell of the pome. The reason is that apple (and pear and quince) seeds are rich in cyanoglycosides, which are highly repellent, particularly to birds... Moreover the placenta of the applefruit, the womb, contains inhibitory substances that prevent the germination of the apple seed in situ. This is a commonly observed phenomenon in fruits as Michael Evenari showed in 1949. So what then does, or did, distribute the original apple seed? The bear..."
Barrie E. Juniper, American Scientist, Vol. 95, No. 1 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2007), pp. 44-51
In Tengrism, Khan Tengri is the lord of all spirits and the religion's supreme deity, and it is the name given to the second highest peak of Tian Shan.[6]
At the 2013 Conference on World Heritage, the eastern portion of Tian Shan in western China's Xinjiang Region was listed as a World Heritage Site.[14] The western portion in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan was then listed in 2016.[15]
^ abcScheffel, Richard L.; Wernet, Susan J., eds. (1980). Natural Wonders of the World. United States of America: Reader's Digest Association, Inc. p. 378. ISBN978-0-89577-087-5.
^班固 Ban Gu (2015-08-20). 漢書: 顏師古註 Hanshu: Yan Shigu Commentary. 祁連山即天山也,匈奴呼天為祁連 (translation: Qilian Mountain is the Tian Shan, the Xiongnu called the sky qilian)
^Mallory, J. P. & Mair, Victor H. (2000). The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. Thames & Hudson. London. p. 58. ISBN978-0-500-05101-6.
^Gorbunov, A.P. (1993), "Geocryology in Mt. Tianshan", PERMAFROST: Sixth International Conference. Proceedings. July 5-9, Beijing, China, 2, South China University of Technology Press, pp. 1105–1107, ISBN978-7-5623-0484-5
^ abcKuhle, M. (1994): New Findings on the Ice-cover between Issyk-Kul and K2 (Tian Shan, Karakorum) during the Last Glaciation. Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Karakorum and Kunlun Mountains (ISKKM), Kashi, China, June 1992. (Eds: Zheng Du; Zhang Qingsong; Pan Yusheng) China Meteorological Press, Beijing, 185-197.
^Grosswald, M. G., Kuhle, M., Fastook, J. L., (1994): Würm Glaciation of Lake Issyk-Kul Area, Tian Shan Mts.: A Case Study in Glacial History of Central Asia. Kuhle, M. (Ed.). Tibet and High Asia. Results of the Sino-German and Russian-German Joint Expeditions (III). GeoJournal, 33, (2/3), Dordrecht, Boston, London, Kluwer, pp. 273-310.
^ abKuhle, M. (2004): The High Glacial (Last Ice Age and LGM) glacier cover in High- and Central Asia. Accompanying text to the mapwork in hand with detailed references to the literature of the underlying empirical investigations. Ehlers, J., Gibbard, P. L. (Eds.). Extent and Chronology of Glaciations, Vol. 3 (Latin America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica). Amsterdam, Elsevier B.V., pp. 175-199.
^Kuhle, M. & Schröder, N. (2000): New Investigations and Results on the Maximum Glaciation of the Kirgisen Shan and Tian Shan Plateau between Kokshaal Tau and Terskey Alatau. Zech, W. (Ed.). Pamir and Tian Shan. Contribution of the Quaternary History. International Workshop at the University of Bayreuth. Abstracts. Bayreuth, University Bayreuth, p. 8.
Issyk-Kul is an endorheic lake in the northern Tian Shan mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the seventh deepest lake in the world, the tenth largest lake in the world by volume, and the second largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea. Issyk-Kul means "warm lake" in the Kyrgyz language; although it is surrounded by snow-capped peaks, it never freezes.
Jengish Chokusu
Jengish Chokusu is the highest mountain in the Tian Shan mountain system at 7,439 metres (24,406 ft). It lies on the Kyrgyzstan–China border between
the raion of Ak-Suu, in the Issyk-Kul Region of far eastern Kyrgyzstan and Wensu County, Xinjiang, China. It is part of the Kakshaal Too, the highest part of the Tian Shan, and located southeast of lake Issyk Kul.
Zhetysu
Zhetysu or Semirechye is a historical name of a part of Central Asia, corresponding to the southeastern part of modern Kazakhstan. It owes its name, meaning "seven rivers" in Kazakh and Persian, to the rivers which flow from the south-east into Lake Balkhash.
Balykchy
Balykchy is a town at the western end of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, at an elevation of about 1,900 metres. Its area is 38 square kilometres (15 sq mi), and its resident population was 42,875 in 2009. A major industrial and transport centre during the Soviet era, it lost most of its economic base after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the closure of virtually all of its industrial facilities.
Issyk-Kul Region
Ysyk-Köl oblusu is one of the regions of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol. It is surrounded by Almaty Region, Kazakhstan (north), Chuy Region (west), Naryn Region (southwest) and Xinjiang, China (southeast). It takes its name from Lake Issyk-Kul, the second largest saline lake in the world, which never freezes despite its altitude in the Tian Shan mountains.
Khan Tengri
Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range. It is located on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan border, east of lake Issyk Kul. Its geologic elevation is 6,995 m (22,949 ft), but its glacial cap rises to 7,010 m (22,999 ft). For this reason, in mountaineering circles, including for the Soviet Snow Leopard award criteria, it is considered a 7,000-metre peak. The name "Khan Tengri" literally means "King Heaven" in Kazakh and possibly references the deity Tengri. In some other local languages, it is known as Khan Tangiri Shyngy, Kan-Too Chokusu, Pik Khan-Tengry, and Hantengri Feng.
Alatau
Alatau or Ala-Too is a generic name for a number of mountain ranges in Central Asia, characterized by interleaving areas of vegetation, scattered rocks and snows.
Trans-Ili Alatau
Ile Alatau, also spelt as Trans-Ili Alatau, etc., is a part of the Northern Tian Shan mountain system in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It is the northernmost mountain range of Tian Shan stretching for about 350 km with maximal elevation of 4,973m. The term "Alatau" refers to a kind of mountain. The range is bounded from the north by the Ili Depression of the Ili River, hence the name.
Aksu River (Xinjiang)
The Aksu River is a transboundary river in the Xinjiang province in China and Ak-Suu District of Issyk Kul Province of Kyrgyzstan. In Kyrgyzstan it is known as the Saryjaz River. The total length of the river is 282 kilometres (175 mi), of which 197 kilometres (122 mi) are in Kyrgyzstan. The Aksu River is the only one of the Tarim's source rivers to run throughout the year.
Athamanthia
Athamanthia is an Eastern Palearctic genus of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Athamanthia is differentiated from Lycaena by characters of the male genitalia.
Ala-Kul
Ala Köl, also Ala-Kul, is a rock-dammed lake in the Terskey Alatau mountain range in the Ak-Suu District of Issyk-Kul Region of Kyrgyzstan. It lies at an altitude of approximately 3560 meters.
Jeti-Ögüz District
Jeti-Ögüz or Jeti-Oguz is a raion (district) of Issyk-Kul Region in north-eastern Kyrgyzstan. The capital lies at Kyzyl-Suu, Its area is 14,499 square kilometres (5,598 sq mi), and its resident population was 82,085 in 2009. and the province comprises much of the eastern end of the Teskey Ala-Too Range.
Terskey Alatau
The Terskey Alatau or Terskey Ala-Too is a mountain range in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan. It stretches south and southeast of Lake Issyk Kul, from the river Joon Aryk near Kochkor in the west to the far northeastern part of Kyrgyzstan. The length of the range is 354 km and the highest peak is Karakol Peak. Another high peak is Boris Yeltsin Peak.
Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range
The Kyrgyz Ala-Too also Kyrgyz Alatau, Kyrgyz Range, Alexander Range is a large range in the North Tien-Shan. It stretches for a total length of 454 km from the west-end of Issyk-Kul to the town Taraz in Kazakhstan. It runs in the east-west direction, separating Chuy Valley from Kochkor Valley, Suusamyr Valley, and Talas Valley. Talas Ala-Too Range adjoins the Kyrgyz Ala-Too in vicinity of Töö Ashuu Pass. The western part of Kyrgyz Ala-Too serves as a natural border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
Küngöy Ala-Too Range
The Küngöy Ala-Too, also spelled Kyungei Alatoo, Kungey Ala-Too, and Kungey Alatau, is a range in the North Tien-Shan. Its length is about 280 km and it stretches from Boom Gorge to Kegen - Karkyrin valley. The highest point of the range is Peak Chok Tal.
Engilchek Glacier
Engilchek Glacier is a glacier in the Central Tian Shan Mountains of Issyk-Kul Region, northeastern Kyrgyzstan. Its snout is 50 km east of the village of Engilchek. The South Inylchek Glacier ranks as the sixth longest non-polar glacier in the world and is the largest and fastest moving glacier in Kyrgyzstan. The main glacier has two arms, the North and South Engilchek Glaciers. The latter is longer and provides an overall length of 60.5 kilometres (38 mi). with an area of 17.2 square kilometres (7 sq mi) and an ice thickness of roughly 150–200 m in the bottom parts. The glacier stems from the Chinese-Kazakh-Kyrgyz massif of Khan Tengri and Pik Pobedy and the upper part of the glacier falls in all three countries. Meltwater from the glacier feeds a tributary of the Aksu River, which crosses the Chinese border into the Tarim Basin. Water from this glacier also feeds the seasonal glacial Lake Merzbacher which ultimately flows into the Engilchek River.
China–Kyrgyzstan border
The China-Kyrgyzstan border is 1,063km (660m) in length and runs from the tripoint with Kazakhstan following a roughly south-west line across various mountain ridges and peaks of the Tian Shan range down to the tripoint with Tajikistan.
Seok Pass
Seok Pass, Söök Pass or Suyak Pass is a mountain pass in the Terskey Alatau mountain range of Kyrgyzstan. Its elevation of 4,028 metres (13,220 ft) makes it the third highest mountain pass in Kyrgyzstan after Bedel Pass and Kyzylart Pass, and the highest one that is not on a border. It connects the Ala-Bel plateau, where the Kumtor Gold Mine is located, to the upper Naryn River valley.
Kolsay Lakes National Park
Kolsay Lakes National Park is located on the north slope of the Tian Shan Mountains, southeast Kazakhstan. Often referred to as "Pearls of Tien Shan", the park's main feature are the Kolsay Lakes located between the Raiymbek District and Talgar District of Almaty Region. The scenic Lake Kaindy is also within the park. The park boundary is 120 kilometres (75 mi) southeast of Almaty.
