ISSYK KUL LAKE IN KYRGYZSTAN Stock Photography

This photo was taken on July, 2015 in Songkul lake, Kyrgyzstan. Lake Issyk-Kul, which means the hot lake in the Turkic languages of Central Asia, holds the title as one of the largest alpine lakes in the world. At an altitude of 1,609 meters above sea level it is exceeded only by Lake Titicaca in Bolivia as highest of the large mountain lakes. Two mountain chains of the Central Tien Shan Range border the lake - in the north the Kungei-Alatau (in Turkic: facing the sun), and in the south the Terskei-Alatau (in Turkic: turned away from the sun). About one hundred large and small rivers flow down into the lake from these peaks, carving gorges and canyons into the mountain flanks. The largest of these rivers, the Tyup and the Jergalan, empty into the lake in the east. In the south, the largest rivers are the Karakol, Kyzyl-Suu, Juuka, Barskoon and Ton; in the north, there are two rivers called Aksu and three rivers called Koisu (Chon Big Koisu, Orto Middle Koisu and Kichi Small Koisu). There are no outlets for the waters of Lake Issyk-Kul, so the lake has a high salinity, actually tasting salty to bathers.