Chatyr-Kul

Lake Chatyr-Kul
Lake Chatyr-Kul
Location	Tian Shan mountains, Naryn Province
Coordinates	40°37′N 75°18′E
Type	Endorheic; Mountain lake
Native name	Chatyrkol (Kyrgyz)
Primary inflows	Glaciers
Primary outflows	Evaporation
Catchment area	1,050 km2 (410 sq mi)
Basin countries	Kyrgyzstan
Designation	Ramsar site
Max. length	23 km (14 mi)
Max. width	10 km (6.2 mi)
Surface area	181 km2 (70 sq mi)
Max. depth	16.5 m (54 ft)
Water volume	0.62 km3 (0.15 cu mi)
Shore length1	58 km (36 mi)
Surface elevation	3,530 m (11,580 ft)
Islands	none
Settlements	none
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Chatyr Kul
Designated	8 November 2005
Reference no.	1588[1]
	1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Chatyr-Kul (also Chatyr Köl, Chatyrkol, Kyrgyz: Чатыркөл) is an endorheic alpine lake in the Tian Shan mountains in At-Bashi District of Naryn Province, Kyrgyzstan; it lies in the lower part of Chatyr-Kul Depression near the Torugart Pass border crossing into China. The name of the lake means “Celestial Lake” in Kyrgyz (literally "Roof Lake"). The lake and 2 km buffer zone around it is part of the Karatal-Japyryk State Nature Reserve. The lake is a Ramsar site of globally significant biodiversity (Ramsar Site RDB Code 2KG002).

Climate

The mean annual temperature in the lake basin is −5.6 °C (21.9 °F), with mean temperature of −22 °C (−8 °F) in January, and 7.1 °C (44.8 °F) in July. The maximum temperature in summer is 24 °C (75 °F), and the minimum one in winter is −50 °C (−58 °F). Some 88-90% of the lake basin's 208–269 mm of annual precipitation falls in summer. From October to end of April the lake surface freezes, the ice becoming as much as 0.25-1.5 m thick.[2][3]

Hydrology

The water of Chatyr Kul Lake is yellowish-green with water transparency of up to 4 metres (13 ft). The mineralization of the lake ranges from 0.5 to 1.0 milligrams per liter (chloride, hydrocarbonate, sodium and magnesium type of mineralization). The salinity of the lake is 2 ppt. Mineral sources in the south part of the lake have mineralization of from 5 to 7 grams (0.18 to 0.25 oz) per liter and pH = 5,8-6,0. Flow rate is 1,866 m³ (65,900 cu ft) in winter and 3,629 cubic metres (128,200 cu ft) during summer.[4] 41 small streams debouches into the lake, of those 21 originate in Torugart Range and 20 - in Atbashi Range. [5]

Negative water balance of the lake over the last decades causes the decline in the lake level.

References

"Chatyr Kul". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
Атлас Кыргызской Республики [Atlas of Kyrgyz Republic] (in Russian). Bishkek: Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyz SSR. 1987. p. 156.
Иссык-Куль. Нарын:Энциклопедия [Encyclopedia of Issyk-Kul and Naryn Oblasts] (in Russian). Bishkek: Chief Editorial Board of Kyrgyz Soviet Encyclopedia. 1994. p. 512. ISBN 5-89750-009-6.
"Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands" (PDF). Retrieved October 30, 2012.
Кыргызстандын географиясы [Geography of Kyrgyzstan] (in Kyrgyz). Bishkek: Chief Editorial Board of Kyrgyz National Encyclopedia. 2004. p. 718. ISBN 9967-14-006-2.

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[1] "Chatyr Kul". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.

[Atlas-2] Атлас Кыргызской Республики [Atlas of Kyrgyz Republic] (in Russian). Bishkek: Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyz SSR. 1987. p. 156.

[encyc-3] Иссык-Куль. Нарын:Энциклопедия [Encyclopedia of Issyk-Kul and Naryn Oblasts] (in Russian). Bishkek: Chief Editorial Board of Kyrgyz Soviet Encyclopedia. 1994. p. 512. ISBN 5-89750-009-6.

[4] "Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands" (PDF). Retrieved October 30, 2012.

[5] Кыргызстандын географиясы [Geography of Kyrgyzstan] (in Kyrgyz). Bishkek: Chief Editorial Board of Kyrgyz National Encyclopedia. 2004. p. 718. ISBN 9967-14-006-2.