Geography
Lake Issyk Kul has a length of 182 kilometres (113 mi), a width of up to 60 kilometres (37 mi), and covers an area of 6,236 square kilometres (2,408 sq mi). This makes it the second largest mountain lake in the world behind Lake Titicaca in South America. Located at an altitude of 1,607 metres (5,272 ft), it reaches 668 metres (2,192 ft) in depth.
About 118 rivers and streams flow into the lake; the largest are the Djyrgalan and Tyup. It is fed by springs, including many hot springs, and snow melt-off. The lake has no current outlet, but some hydrologists hypothesize that, deep underground, lake water filters into the Chu River. The bottom of the lake contains the mineral monohydrocalcite: one of the few known lacustrine deposits.
The lake's southern shore is dominated by the ruggedly beautiful Teskey Ala-Too Range of the Tian Shan mountains. The Kyungey Ala-Too of the Tian Shan runs parallel to the north shore.
The lake water has salinity of approx. 0.6%—compare to 3.5% salinity of typical seawater—and its level drops by approximately 5 cm per year.
Administratively, the lake and the adjacent land are within Issyk Kul Province of Kyrgyzstan.
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