Engilchek Glacier ( ky, Эңилчек, russian: Энильчек - ''Enilchek'', also Иныльчек - ''Inylchek'') is a glacier in the Central
Tian Shan Mountains
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
of
Issyk-Kul Region
Issyk-Kul Region ( ky, Ысык-Көл облусу, Ysyk-Köl oblusu; russian: Иссык-Кульская область, Issyk-Kulskaya oblast) is one of the regions of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol. It is surrounded by Almaty Region, Kaz ...
, northeastern
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. ...
. Its snout is 50 km east of the village of
Engilchek. The South Engilchek Glacier ranks as the
sixth longest non-polar glacier in the world and is the largest and fastest moving glacier in Kyrgyzstan. The main glacier has two arms, the North and South Engilchek Glaciers. The latter is longer and provides an overall length of .
with an area of and an ice thickness of roughly 150–200 m in the bottom parts. The glacier stems from the Chinese-Kazakh-Kyrgyz massif of
Khan Tengri
Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range. It is on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk-Kul, Issyk Kul. Its geologic elevation is , but its glacial icecap rises to . For this reason, in mounta ...
and
Pik Pobedy
Jengish Chokusu ( ky, Жеңиш чокусу, , ; en, Tomur Peak, zh, s=托木尔峰, t=托木爾峰; russian: Пик Победы, ''Pik Pobedy'', ) is the highest mountain in the Tian Shan mountain system at . It lies on the Kyrgyzstan–Ch ...
and the upper part of the glacier falls in all three countries.
Meltwater from the glacier feeds the
Engilchek River
The Engilchek ( ky, Эңилчек) is a river in Ak-Suu District of Issyk-Kul Region of eastern Kyrgyzstan. It drains the Engilchek Glacier in the Central Tian Shan
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, ...
, a tributary of the
Saryjaz (known as Aksu in China), which crosses the Chinese border into the
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...
. Water from this glacier also feeds the seasonal glacial
Lake Merzbacher
Lake Merzbacher is a moraine glacier lake located in east Kyrgyzstan between the north and south Engilchek Glaciers in the Tien Shan Mountains. It is often called the "Disappearing Lake" because it drains every year as the ice melts, often causin ...
which causes frequent
glacial lake outburst flood
A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is a type of outburst flood caused by the failure of a dam containing a glacial lake. An event similar to a GLOF, where a body of water contained by a glacier melts or overflows the glacier, is called a jö ...
s in the Engilchek River valley.
References
Glaciers of Kyrgyzstan
Issyk-Kul Region
Tian Shan
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