The Chu (Shu or Chüy) ( kk, Шу, Shu, شۋ; ky, Чүй, Chüy, چۉي; dng, Чў, Chwu (from , ''Chǔ''); russian: Чу, Chu) is a river in Northern
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
and Southern
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
. Of its total length of ,
[Чу (река)]
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...
the first 115 kilometres are in Kyrgyzstan, then for 221 kilometres the river is the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and the last 731 kilometres are in Kazakhstan. It is one of the longest
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
s in Kyrgyzstan and in Kazakhstan. It has a drainage basin of .
[
The ]Chüy Region
Chüy Region ( ky, Чүй облусу, Chüy oblusu; russian: Чуйская область, Chuyskaya oblast) is the northernmost region (''oblast'') of the Kyrgyz Republic. This region surrounds the national capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek. It ...
, the northernmost and most populous administrative region of Kyrgyzstan, is named after the river; so are Chüy Avenue, the main street of Bishkek and the city of Shu in Kazakhstan's Jambyl Region
Jambyl or Zhambyl Region ( kk, Жамбыл облысы, translit=Jambyl oblysy; russian: Жамбылская область, Zhambylskaya oblast), formerly known as Dzhambul Region (russian: Джамбульская область, Dzhambulska ...
.
Course
The Chu is formed by the confluence of the rivers Joon Aryk
The Joon-Aryk ( ky, Жоон-Арык) is a river in Kochkor District of Naryn Region of Kyrgyzstan. It is formed by confluence of Kara-Kujur and Telek rivers. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . Average annual discharge - 11.4 cubic mete ...
and Kochkor
Kochkor ( ky, Кочкор; russian: Кочкорка, Kochkorka) is a large village in northern Naryn Region of Kyrgyzstan. It is the administrative centre of Kochkor District. The village was established in 1909 as Stolypino and renamed to Kochko ...
,[ in the ]Kochkor District
Kochkor () is a Districts of Kyrgyzstan, district of Naryn Region in northern-central Kyrgyzstan. The administrative seat lies at Kochkor. Its area is , and its resident population was 67,363 in 2021.
Population
Populated places
In total, Kochko ...
of the Naryn Region
Naryn Region ( ky, Нарын облусу, Naryn oblusu; russian: Нарынская область, Narynskaya oblast) is the largest region ('' oblus'') of Kyrgyzstan. It is located in the east of the country and borders with Chüy Region in ...
. After approaching within a few kilometres of Lake Issyk-Kul
Issyk-Kul (also Ysyk-Köl, ky, Ысык-Көл, lit=warm lake, translit=Ysyk-Köl, , zh, 伊塞克湖) is an endorheic lake (i.e., without outflow) in the Northern Tian Shan mountains in Eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the seventh-deepest lake in th ...
(near Balykchy
Balykchy ( ky, Балыкчы) is a town at the western end of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, at an elevation of about 1,900 metres. Its area is , and its resident population was 42,875 in 2021 (both including Orto-Tokoy). A major industrial and tr ...
), without either flowing into the lake or draining it, it turns towards the northwest. In the 1950s an old riverbed called Ketmaldy (also Buugan) linked the Chu River and Issyk Kul. During floods part of Chu water would reach the lake, but such outflow has not been seen since the construction of the Orto-Tokoy Reservoir
Orto-Tokoy Reservoir or Ortotokoy Reservoir ( ky, Ортотокой суу сактагычы), is a reservoir of the Chu River, located in Kochkor District of Naryn Region of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, ...
. After passing through the narrow Boom Gorge
Boom Gorge ( ky, Боом капчыгайы, Boom kapchygayy, lit=shoestring gorge, russian: Боо́мское уще́лье) is a river gorge in Chüy Region and Issyk-Kul Region of Kyrgyzstan.
The gorge cuts, in a general north–south dire ...
(russian: Боомское ущелье, ''Boomskoye ushchelye''), the river enters the comparatively flat Chüy Valley, within which lie the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek
Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...
and the Kazakh city of Shu. Much of the Chu's water is diverted into a network of canals, such as the Great Chüy Canal
The Great Chüy Canal ( ky, Чоң Чүй каналы, [], russian: Большой Чуйский канал, often abbreviated БЧК) is one of an extensive complex of irrigation canals of the Chüy Valley in Kyrgyzstan and to some extent [ aza ...
, to irrigate the fertile black soils of the Chüy Valley for farming, on both the Kyrgyz and Kazakh sides of the river.
As the Chu flows through the Chüy Valley, it forms the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan for more than a hundred kilometres, but then it leaves Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
and flows into Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
, where, like many other rivers and streams that drain Northern Kyrgyzstan it eventually disappears in the steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grasslands, ...
. In wet years it may reach the drainless salt lake Akzhaykyn
Akzhaykyn ( kk, Ақжайқын; russian: Акжайкын) is a salt lake group in Sozak District, Turkistan Region, Kazakhstan.
Akzhaykyn is one of the main lakes of the Ashchykol Depression. There used to be fisheries in the lake in 1965— ...
, located among the vast solonchak
Solonchak (Russian and Ukrainian: Солончак) is a Reference Soil Group of the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB). It is a pale or grey soil type found in arid to subhumid, poorly drained conditions. The word is Russian for "sal ...
s of the Ashchykol Depression
The Ashchykol Depression ( kk, Ащыкөл ойпаты; rus, Ащыкольская впадина), is a depression in the Turkistan and Kyzylorda regions, Kazakhstan.Google Earth
The village of Taykonyr, Suzak District, Turkistan Region is ...
.
History
The area of this river was originally home to the Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
Sughd
Sughd Province ( tg, Вилояти Суғд, Viloyati Sughd, Sogdia Region , fa, ولایت سغد) is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces ( tg, вилоятҳо, viloyatho , fa, ولایت) that make up ...
s who spoke Soghdian
The Sogdian language was an Eastern Iranian language spoken mainly in the Central Asian region of Sogdia (capital: Samarkand; other chief cities: Panjakent, Fergana, Khujand, and Bukhara), located in modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhst ...
, an East Iranian language
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau.
The Iranian languages are grouped ...
.
During the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, the area was strategically important. It was the setting of Suyab
Suyab ( fa, سوی آب; Middle Chinese: /suʌiH jiᴇp̚/), also known as ''Ordukent'' (modern-day ''Ak-Beshim''), was an ancient Silk Road city located some 50 km east from Bishkek, and 8 km west southwest from Tokmok, in the Chu ri ...
, the capital of the Western Turkic Khaganate
The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate ( otk, 𐰆𐰣:𐰸:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, On oq budun, Ten arrow people) was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after t ...
and Balasagun
Balasagun ( or ''Balasagyn''; ) was an ancient Sogdian city in modern-day Kyrgyzstan, located in the Chüy Valley between Bishkek and the Issyk-Kul lake. Located along the Silk Road, the ruins of the city were inscribed in 2014 on the UNESCO Wor ...
, the capital of the Qara Khitai
The Qara Khitai, or Kara Khitai (), also known as the Western Liao (), officially the Great Liao (), was a Sinicized dynastic regime based in Central Asia ruled by the Khitan Yelü clan. The Qara Khitai is considered by historians to be an ...
(Western Liao dynasty).
The Chu River posed a risk of flooding for settlements located in the Chu Valley. In the winter of 1878, an ice gorge formed on the Chu River upstream from Tokmok
Tokmok ( ky, Токмок, lit=hammer; russian: Токмак, Tokmak) is a city in the Chüy Valley, northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek, with a population of 71,443 in 2021. Its elevation is 816 m above sea level. From ...
, the administrative centre of Semirechye Province. This was followed by severe flooding that damaged the town and the province's capital was moved to Pishpek (Bishkek).
Dams
The river flow is regulated by the dam at Orto-Tokoy Reservoir
Orto-Tokoy Reservoir or Ortotokoy Reservoir ( ky, Ортотокой суу сактагычы), is a reservoir of the Chu River, located in Kochkor District of Naryn Region of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, ...
in Kyrgyzstan built in 1957 and the dam at Tasotkel Reservoir in Kazakhstan built in 1974.
Ecology and environment
Environmental monitoring
The Kyrgyz State Agency for Hydrometeorology and the Kazakhstan Hydrometeorological Service (Kazhydromet) operate a number of water quality monitoring stations on the Chu River and its tributaries.
Water quality
According to the Kyrgyz State Agency for Hydrometeorology, in 2004–08 the water pollution index of the Chu River in the Chu Valley ranged from 0.25 to 0.7 units, which is interpreted as Class II ("Clean water"). The only exception was a monitoring point downstream of Vasilyevka village where the water pollution index ranged from 0.4 to 1.2 units and water quality was assessed as Class II(Clean)/Class III ("Moderately polluted").
According to the Kazakhstan Hydrometeorological Service (Kazhydromet), the water pollution index of the Shu (Chu) River in the Jambyl Region
Jambyl or Zhambyl Region ( kk, Жамбыл облысы, translit=Jambyl oblysy; russian: Жамбылская область, Zhambylskaya oblast), formerly known as Dzhambul Region (russian: Джамбульская область, Dzhambulska ...
of Kazakhstan amounted to 2.01 (Class III, "Moderately polluted") in 2008, and 1.83 (Class III, "Moderately polluted") in 2009. Such water quality parameters as biochemical oxygen demand
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) needed (i.e. demanded) by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material present in a given water sample at a certain temperature over a specific time period. T ...
, nitrite
The nitrite polyatomic ion, ion has the chemical formula . Nitrite (mostly sodium nitrite) is widely used throughout chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The nitrite anion is a pervasive intermediate in the nitrogen cycle in nature. The name ...
s, copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
, and phenols
In organic chemistry, phenols, sometimes called phenolics, are a class of chemical compounds consisting of one or more hydroxyl groups (— O H) bonded directly to an aromatic hydrocarbon group. The simplest is phenol, . Phenolic compounds are c ...
exceeded the maximum allowable concentrations.
Major tributaries
In Kyrgyzstan, 4892 rivers and canals flow into Chu River. The main tributaries are, from source to mouth:
* Kochkor
Kochkor ( ky, Кочкор; russian: Кочкорка, Kochkorka) is a large village in northern Naryn Region of Kyrgyzstan. It is the administrative centre of Kochkor District. The village was established in 1909 as Stolypino and renamed to Kochko ...
(left)
* Joon Aryk
The Joon-Aryk ( ky, Жоон-Арык) is a river in Kochkor District of Naryn Region of Kyrgyzstan. It is formed by confluence of Kara-Kujur and Telek rivers. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . Average annual discharge - 11.4 cubic mete ...
(right)
* Chong-Kemin
The Chong-Kemin ( ky, Чоң-Кемин) is a river in Kemin District of Chüy Region of Kyrgyzstan. It is a right tributary of the Chu (right)
* Kichi-Kemin (right)
* Kara-Konguz (right)
* Shamshy (left)
* Ysyk-Ata
The Ysyk-Ata ( ky, Ысык-Ата) is a river in Ysyk-Ata District of Chüy Region of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the no ...
(left)
* Alamüdün
Alamüdün ( ky, Аламүдүн, also ''Alamedin'' and ''Alamudun'') is a town and northern suburb of Bishkek in Chüy Region of Kyrgyzstan, part of Alamüdün District (raion). Its population was 12,198 in 2021. It lies along the M39 highw ...
(left)
* Ala-Archa (left)
* Jylamysh (left)
* Kakpatas (right)
* Ak-Suu (left)
* Kuragaty (left)
Gallery
Image:E8145-Chu-River.jpg, In the Boom Gorge
Boom Gorge ( ky, Боом капчыгайы, Boom kapchygayy, lit=shoestring gorge, russian: Боо́мское уще́лье) is a river gorge in Chüy Region and Issyk-Kul Region of Kyrgyzstan.
The gorge cuts, in a general north–south dire ...
Image:balbal.jpg, A medieval balbal Balbal or bal-bal can refer to:
* Balbals or Kurgan stelae
* Bal-Bal
In Philippine mythology, a Bal-Bal is an undead monster that steals corpses whether it is in a funeral or grave and feeds on them. It has a strong sense of smell for dead human ...
near Burana Tower
, native_name_lang =
, alternate_name =
, image = Burana tower 2009.jpg
, image_size =
, alt =
, caption = Burana tower as of 2012
, map =
, map_type = Kyrgyzstan
, map_alt =
, m ...
in the Chüy Valley
Image:E8046-Chuy-Valley-Milyanfan-east.jpg, In the Chüy Valley near Milyanfan
Milyanfan ( ky, Милянфан; russian: Милянфан, from dng, Милёнчуан; Hanzi: ) is a village in the Ysyk-Ata District of the Chüy Region of Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 5,271 in 2021. It is located near the southern bank ...
Image:E7858-Korday-Chu.jpg, Near Korday
Korday or Kordoy ( kz, Қордай, translit=Qordai, ; ky, Кордой) is a village in Jambyl Region of Kazakhstan, and the administrative center of that region's Korday District. It has been formerly known under its old Russian name of Geor ...
border crossing
Image:E7840-Shu-city-river-crossing.jpg, Near Shu, Kazakhstan
See also
*Chu-Ili Range
The Chu-Ili Range ( kk, Шу-Іле таулары) is a range of mountains in Kazakhstan. Administratively it is part of the Almaty Region, Almaty and Zhambyl Region, Zhambyl regions.
The M36 Highway (Kazakhstan), M36 Highway skirts the range alo ...
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of Kyrgyzstan
Rivers of Kazakhstan
Issyk-Kul Region
Chüy Region
Border rivers
Jambyl Region
Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan border
Tian Shan