Song-Köl (, , literally "following lake") is an alpine lake in northern

Naryn Region Naryn Region is the largest region of Kyrgyzstan. It is located in the east of the country and borders with Chüy Region in the north, Issyk-Kul Region in the northeast, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China in the southeast, Osh Region i ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. It lies at an altitude of 3016 m, and has an area of about 270 km² and volume of 2.64 km³. The lake's maximum length is 29 km, breadth about 18 km at its widest, and the deepest point is 13.2 m. It is the second largest lake in Kyrgyzstan after

Issyk-Kul Issyk-Kul () or Ysyk-Köl (, ; ) is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tianshan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the eighth-deepest lake in the world, the eleve ...

, and the largest fresh water lake in the country.

Geography

High altitude Song-Köl belongs to the Naryn river basin. The lake sits in the central part of Song-Köl Valley surrounded by Songköl Too ridge from the north, and Borbor Alabas and Moldo Too mountains from the south. Hydrologically, the Song-Köl basin is characterized by poorly developed surface stream flows, and substantial subsurface flow. Four perennial rivers - Kumbel, Aktash, Tashdöbö, and Karakeche - disgorge themselves into the lake. In the south-east, the structural high is cut through by the river Kajyrty (in its upper course also called ''Song-Köl'') that flows into the Naryn.

Environment

Climate

The mean temperature in the lake basin is with mean temperature of in January, and in July. Annual precipitation averages 300–400 mm from April to October, and 100–150 mm from November to March. Snow cover in the lake basin persists for 180 to 200 days a year. In winter the lake surface freezes, the ice becoming as much as 1-1.2 m thick. The ice on Song-Köl begins to thaw in the middle or at the end of April, and completely disappears by late May.

Ecology

In 2011, Song-Köl was designated by Kyrgyzstan as its third Wetland of International Importance for the Ramsar List. Since 1998, a section of the lake and its shore (3,400 ha land, 5,200 ha water) is protected as part of the Karatal-Japyryk Nature Reserve.

Birds

The lake supports large numbers of

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

on passage migration. There are breeding colonies of

demoiselle crane The demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') is a species of crane found in central Eurosiberia, ranging from the Black Sea to Mongolia and Northeast China. There is also a small breeding population in Turkey. These cranes are migratory birds. Birds f ...

s, bar-headed geese and

black-headed gull The black-headed gull (''Chroicocephalus ridibundus'') is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic in Europe and Asia, and also locally in smaller numbers in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters fu ...

s. It has been recognised as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

History

There are several signs of nomadic life from the earlier times in the Son Kul valley. Ancient petroglyphs can be found east from the lake and there are round stone settings that have similarities with the ones found in Mongolia and Altai area. Several different sized burial mounds can be also found around the lake.

References

{{Lakes of Kyrgyzstan Lakes of Kyrgyzstan Mountain lakes Important Bird Areas of Kyrgyzstan Ramsar sites in Kyrgyzstan