Issyk-Kul
| Isyk-Kul | |
|---|---|
Issyk-Kul from space, September 1992 | |
| Coordinates | 42°25′N 77°15′E / 42.417°N 77.250°E |
| Lake type | Ancient lake, Endorheic Mountain lake Monomictic |
| Primary inflows | Glaciers |
| Primary outflows | Evaporation |
| Catchment area | 15,844 square kilometres (6,117 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Kyrgyzstan |
| Max. length | 178 kilometres (111 mi) |
| Max. width | 60.1 kilometres (37.3 mi) |
| Surface area | 6,236 square kilometres (2,408 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 278.4 metres (913 ft) |
| Max. depth | 668 metres (2,192 ft) |
| Water volume | 1,736 cubic kilometres (416 cu mi) |
| Residence time | ~330 years |
| Salinity | 6g/L |
| Shore length1 | 669 kilometres (416 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 1,607 metres (5,272 ft) |
| Settlements | Balykchy, Cholpon-Ata, Karakol |
| Official name | The Issyk-kul State Nature Reserve with the Issyk-kul Lake |
| Designated | 12 November 2002 |
| Reference no. | 1231 |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
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Issyk-Kul (Russian: Иссык-Куль) or Ysyk-Köl (Kyrgyz: Ысык-Көл, IPA: [ɯsɯ́q kʰɵ́l]; lit. 'Warm Lake') is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tianshan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the eighth-deepest lake in the world, the eleventh-largest lake in the world by volume (though not in surface area), the deepest lake whose deepest point is above sea level (939 meters or 3,080 feet), and the third-largest saline lake. Although it is located at a lofty elevation of 1,607 metres (5,272 ft) and subject to severe cold during winter, it rarely freezes over due to high salinity, hence its name, which in the Kyrgyz language means "warm lake".
The lake is a Ramsar site of globally significant biodiversity and forms part of the Issyk-Kul Biosphere Reserve.