Chatyr-Kul


Chatyr-Kul 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. 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.

Climate

The mean annual temperature in the lake basin is, with mean temperature of in January, and in July. The maximum temperature in summer is, and the minimum one in winter is. 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.

Hydrology

The water of Chatyr Kul Lake is yellowish-green with water transparency of up to. The mineralization of the lake ranges from 0.5 to 1.0 milligrams per liter. The salinity of the lake is 2 ppt. Mineral sources in the south part of the lake have mineralization of from per liter and pH = 5,8-6,0. Flow rate is in winter and during summer. 41 small streams debouches into the lake, of those 21 originate in Torugart Range and 20 - in Atbashi Range.
Negative water balance of the lake over the last decades causes the decline in the lake level.