Geography and Environment of Kyrgyzstan

The Kyrgyz Republic is a Central Asian country of natural beauty and proud nomadic traditions. Occupying a strategic location on the Silk Road, its territory is one of the most ancient centers of human civilization, as documented in Chinese, Arabic, Iranian, and Turkish written sources. Bishkek (formerly Frunze), the capital, and Osh are the principal cities. The Kyrgyz Republic is a country of sunshine, high, snow-covered mountains, deep gorges cut by swift rivers and 1,923 mountain lakes. In the summer months, travelers can spend part of a single day in a sunny valley, in a flowering meadow high in the mountains, and in glaciers above the clouds. Extensive mountain ranges featuring ridges, deep gorges, wide valleys, and virgin forests are complemented by more than 40,000 rivers and streams that provide irrigation and a vast potential for hydroelectric production. The Tien Shan and Pamir mountain ranges dominate 65% of the country, and the average elevation is 2,750 meters, ranging from 394 meters in the Fergana Valley to 7,439 meters (24,409 feet) at Pik Pobedy (Mount Victory). It is estimated that the Kyrgyz Republic’s 6,500 distinct glaciers hold more than 650 billion cubic meters of water. The alpine regions provide rich pastures for sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and yaks. The main agricultural regions are the Chui River valley in the North and the Fergana Valley in the South. Over half of the cultivated area is irrigated, and cotton, sugar, beets, silk, tobacco, fruit, grapes, and grains are among the main crops. There are gold, coal, antimony, lead, tungsten, mercury, uranium, petroleum, and natural gas deposits, and industries include food processing and the manufacture of agricultural machinery and textiles. The country is lightly forested with woods covering about 3.5% of the country. However, forests in the south of the Kyrgyz Republic include the largest wild nut (walnut) groves on earth.

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