Issyk Kul

Issyk Kul (also Ysyk Köl, Issyk-kol) is an endorheic lake in the northern Tian Shan mountains in northwestern Kyrgyzstan. It has a length of 182 km, a width of up to 60 km, and covers an area of 6,236 km². This makes it the second largest mountain lake in the world behind Lake Titicaca. Located at an altitude of 1,606 m, it reaches 668 m in depthhttp://www.ilec.or.jp/database/asi/dasi55.html. The lake is slightly saline and remains ice-free in winter. It is fed by springs and snow melt-off, and it has no current outlet. Its southern shore is dominated by the ruggedly beautiful Tian Shan mountain range. The lake level drops by approximately 5 cm per year.http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/asi/asi-55.html

During the Soviet era, the lake became a popular vacation resort, with numerous sanatoria, boarding houses and vacation homes along its northern shore, many concentrated in and around the town of Cholpon-Ata. During this period the lake, with its salinity comparable to Ocean waters, served as a secret testing ground for torpedoes.

The city of Karakol (formerly Przhevalsk), administrative seat of Issyk-Kul oblast, 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 mosque and a wooden orthodox church that was used as a stable during Soviet times.

A 14th century Armenian monastery was found on the northeastern shores of the lake by retracing the steps of a medieval map used by Venetian merchants on the Silk Road.

Sevan trout, an endemic fish of Lake Sevan in Armenia, was introduced into the lake in the 1970s. While it is an endangered species 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 Islamic legend, the king of the Ossounes had ass'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, so legend says. Other legends say that four drowned cities lie at the bottom of the lake; in fact, substantial archaeological finds have been made in shallow waters of the lake.

References

World Lake Database entry for Lake Issyk-Kul

Lakes of Kyrgyzstan | Endorheic lakes

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The Legend of its Creation

See also

References