Tian Shan
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F The Tian Shan ( Germanized Tien Shan ) is an uprising to a height of 7439 m high mountain in the Central Asian landscape type Turkestan. It separates the northern and southern parts of Turkestan from each other. On June 21, 2013 parts of the mountains in Xinjiang were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Origin of the name
The name of the mountain comes from the Chinese天山the Tian Shan "Heavenly Mountains" (including Kyrgyz Тян Шан / Tien Shan ). In the Uighur called the mountains Tanri Tagi " mountain of God ". In English, the name " Celestial Mountains " is common in Russian it is known as the Tien Shan ( Тянь Шань ).
Geography
The Tian Shan mountain range, which extends over the territory of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan lies west and north of the Tarim Basin, east of Kyzyl Kum, southeast of the Kazakh threshold and south of the High Basin of Dsungaristan.
In the southwest closes, separated by the Ferghana Valley, the elongated mountain chain of the Alai on. The Tian Shan runs from the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, mainly in east-west direction until well into China, where it ends in the plains of the Gobi Desert.
The Tian Shan is 2450 km long, 400 km wide and covers approximately 1.036 million km ², of which 6 % and 1% glacier permafrost.
The highest mountains of the Tian Shan are Dschengisch Tschokusu ( kirgis. Жеңиш Чокусу; chines Tomur Feng托 木 尔 峰; Russian Пик Победы / Pik Pobedy - " Summit of the victory .") With 7439 m and Khan Tengri (Russian Хан Тенгры - "Lord of Spirits" ) with 7010 m. In the ramified firn basin between these two mountains also has the southern Inylchek, with a length of 60 kilometers, one of the largest non- polar valley glaciers in the world, its origin.
Part of the Tian Shan Mountains include: Bogda Shan, Koksaal Dew, Ili Mountains, Irenchabirga, Kyrgyz Mountains, Kungej Alatau, Kuruktag, Talas Alatau, Terskey Alatau and Transili Alatau.
Between the mountain ranges of the Kungej Alatau and the Terskey Alatau lies on Kyrgyz territory to 1609m high mountain height of Issyk Kul.
As major rivers originate in the Tian Shan among others, the Ili, the Syr Darya and Tarim, with its tributaries Konqi and Aqsu.
On the south side of the mountain, the silk road runs with its various branch routes.
UNESCO
Parts of the Tian Shan in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region ( PRC ) was declared in June 2013 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was the mountain Bogda (博格达 峰, 5445 m), together with the Heavenly Lake (天山 天池), both in the administrative area of the city of Fukang in the Changji Hui Autonomous County, mountain Dschengisch Tschokusu (托 木 尔 峰/ Tomur, 7439 m ) and the Tomur Nature Reserve, both in the circle Aksu Konaxeher the governmental district of Aksu, the Karajon - Kürdenin Prairie (喀拉 峻-库尔德宁 草原) Autonomous in Kazakh district Ili, Karajon in the commune Karadala the circle Tekes, Kürdenin area the community Muhur the circle Tokkuztara and the Bayan Bulak grasslands (巴音 布鲁克 草原) with one of the largest wetlands of China and Bayan Bulak nature reserve (巴音 布鲁克 国家级 自然保护区) in a circle Hejing of the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture Bayingolin, distributed to the selected administrative areas of the municipalities Elzet Ul, Bayan Gol and the large municipalities Künesgol and Bayanbulak and declared a World heritage Site.
Paleogeography and prehistoric climate ( Tian Shan during the Ice Age )
On the northern edge of the Tarim Basin extends between the mountain range of Koksaal -thaw in the south and the mountain chain of the Terskey Alatau in the north, the 100 to 120 km wide, Tian Shan plateau with its seated mountain landscape. The Koksaal -thaw sets in a total length of 570 km from west of Peak Dankowa ( Dankov, 5986 m) to east-northeast to Dschengisch Tschokusu ( Tomur Feng, 7439 m) and, moreover, continues. Both this mountain range as well as the 300- km-long parallel mountain range of Terskey Alatau and the intermediate Tian Shan plateau were covered by glacial interrelated Eisstromnetzen and a plateau glacier. The interglacial rest of this glaciation is still the 60 km long Southern Inylchek Glacier. The Auslassgletscherzungen the plateau glacier flowed northward down to the Issyk Kul Lake in 1609m and calved in this 160 km long lake. Similarly heavily glaciated was up more than 50 kilometers wide mountain range of Kungej Alatau, which connects the north of the Issyk Kul and extends to the foothills at Alma Ata. The Kungej Alatau is 230 km long. From the Ice Age glaciers Kungej Alatau also calved in the Issyk Kul. His extending westward Chon Kemin ( valley) was up to his mouth glaciated in the Chu Valley. From the western extension of the Kungej Alatau - the Kyrgyz Mountains (42 ° 25'N / 74 ° - 75 ° E) Ice Age glaciers flowed up into the foothills at 900 m ( near the city of Bishkek ) down. There, among other things, made the Ak Sai valley glacier from a foothills glacier. Overall, the glacial Tian Shan glaciation took an area of approximately 118,000 km ². The glacier snow line (ELA ), as the high limit between Gletschernährgebiet and Abschmelzzone, was lowered to 1200 meters as compared to today. From this it would be - under the condition of similar rainfall pattern - a reduction of the annual mean temperature 7.2 to 8.4 ° C for the last glacial period (Last Glacial Period = MIS 2) compared to today.