Kyrgyzstan Humanitarian Response - Who What Where

Water resources

There are more than 40,000 rivers and streams in Kyrgyzstan, with a combined length of roughly 150,000 km and draining some 47 cubic km of water a year.

The main source of water for the rivers is melt water from the numerous glaciers and snowfields in the mountains. The contribution of rainfall amounts to less than one fifth of the water flow.

The River Naryn is the longest river in Kyrgyzstan , ( 616 km in length) formed by the confluence of the Big and Litlle Naryn Rivers, just above the town of Naryn, it collects the waters of several large tributaries such as the At Bashi and Kekemeren until flows into the Toktogul Reservoir and the flows south breaking through the Ferghana Rangeinto the Ferghana valley and then amasses yet more tributaries until eventually it flo ws as the Syr Darya (the ancient name by which it was known) into the Aral Sea.

In total, there are almost 2000 lakes in the Kyrgyz Republic , with a combined area of 6836 sq km. Most of them are small mountain lakes, located at altitudes between 2500 and 4000 meters above sea level and were formed as a result of glaciation. Only 16 of the lakes have a surface area of over 1 sq. km.

In Kyrgyz, the word for lake is “kul” – as in Issyk Kul, Son Kul and Chatyr Kul.

Read more about water in Kyrgyzstan