Geography of Issyk Kul

There is a legend about the origin of the «Warm Lake»: «High up in the mountains, in an impregnable fortress, lived a khan known for his cruelty and tyranny. In his old age, he became captivated by a beautiful young woman and decided to add her to his harem. But when she rejected his proposal, the khan’s servants kidnapped her and forcibly brought her to the fortress. The proud beauty refused to accept her fate and threw herself from a window into the abyss. The earth trembled from this tragedy, splitting open and swallowing the fortress. Mighty torrents of water rushed in from all directions, flooding the surrounding area, and thus, the vast lake was formed.»

This legend aligns quite closely with scientific findings. It is known that Issyk-Kul is of tectonic origin. The shifting of lithospheric plates caused certain sections of the land to sink, which, when filled with water, formed the lake bed. Meanwhile, the neighboring regions rose more than three thousand meters into the sky. This led to the emergence of the Terskey Alatau («Variegated Mountains Facing Away from the Sun») and the Kungey Alatau («Variegated Mountains Facing the Sun») mountain ranges.

During the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, the area now occupied by the Issyk-Kul basin and its surrounding ridges was submerged under the Tethys Ocean, resulting in the accumulation of substantial sedimentary layers. The formation of the landscape occurred over a prolonged period, spanning several million years, which explains the diversity of natural forms that characterize this extraordinary region today.