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Lake Kagalachap.
Backpacking in Kyrgyzstan.
“One evening I was sitting in a deep gorge on the bank of a fast stream. Nearby, through the dense greenery of the pyramidal poplars, one could see the walls of the houses of a small village. The sound of a strong mountain river was incessant in the air. And when the sun dipped behind the high crest of the ridge, for a moment spots of sparkling snow flashed in its parting rays. The wind died down, the rustling of leaves stopped, it became distinctly audible how the river carried large stones along the bottom, rubbing them against each other."
"Years of searching in Asia.". E.M. Murzaev. 1973.
Central Asia Hiking and Backpacking.
The fresh, flowing lake Kagalyachap is located at an altitude of 3789 meters above sea level, is located on the watershed Kagalyachap plateau, 4.5 kilometers southeast of the Kubyurgenty pass located at an altitude of 3907.2 meters above sea level, between the northern slopes of the Western Kokshaal-Too and the southern slopes of the western part of the Borkoldoy ridge and the eastern part of the Naryn-Tau ridge in the Naryn region.
The lake is 554 meters long from west to east, the largest width in the central part is 500 meters from north to south, the lake area is 0.22 square kilometers, the perimeter reaches 1.82 kilometers. The lake lies 1.4 kilometers southeast of the highway between the Kendy and Karakoz border posts.
The lake is located near the so-called Aksai glaciation node, on a 129-kilometer stretch between the outbursts of the Western and Eastern Ak-Sai (Kokshaala) and Uzengegush rivers. The watershed of these rivers from the north of the Kokshaal-Too ridge is the Kagalyachap plateau, located in the southern part at an altitude of 4323.4 meters above sea level and in the northern part at an altitude of 3097.2 meters above sea level (Kubyurgenty pass), located south of the Kyzyl massif - Asker, between the northern slopes of the Western Kokshaal-Too ridge and the southern slopes of the western part of the Borkoldoy ridge and the eastern part of the Naryn-Tau ridge in the Naryn region and only a small part of the northeastern part lies in the Issyk-Kul region.
10.4 kilometers southwest of the lake is the tongue of the Kotur glacier, located at an altitude of 3989 meters above sea level. 10.7 kilometers to the south and a little to the east is the tongue of the Kyzylunet Vostochny glacier, located at an altitude of 4043 meters above sea level.
1.1 kilometers to the northeast is Lake Kagalyachap North, located at an altitude of 3758 meters above sea level. In winter, the lake freezes, and there are a lot of algae in the lake.
Geographical coordinates of Lake Kagalachap: N41°10'57.34" E77°23'21.49"
Authority and photos by
Alexander Petrov.