The Alay or Alai Range (Kyrgyz: Алай тоо кыркасы; Russian: Алайский хребет) is a mountain range that extends from the Tien Shan mountain range in Kyrgyzstan west into Tajikistan. It is part of the Pamir-Alay mountain system. The range runs approximately east to west.[2][3] Its highest summit is Pik Tandykul (Russian: пик Тандыкуль), reaching 5544 m.[4] It forms the southern border of the Fergana Valley, and in the south it falls steeply to the Alay Valley.[5] The southern slopes of the range drain into the Kyzylsuu or Vakhsh River, a tributary of the Amu Darya. The streams that drain the northern slopes of the range are tributaries of the Syr Darya, and empty into the Fergana Valley to the north of the range. Pik Skobeleva, 5,051 metres (16,572 ft), is also a well-known summit. European route E007: Tashkent – Kokand – Andijan – Osh – Irkeshtam crosses the range by the Taldyk Pass. The range is also traversed by Pamir highway.
| Alay Range | |
|---|---|
 Alai Range from Jiptik Valley | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 5,544 m (18,189 ft) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 350 km (220 mi) W-S[1] |
| Width | 20 km (12 mi) N-S[1] |
| Naming | |
| Native name | Алай тоо кыркасы (Kyrgyz) |
| Geography | |
  Alay Range Location of the Alay Mountains | |
| Countries | |
| Regions | |
| Range coordinates | 39°40′N 72°0′E / 39.667°N 72.000°E |
Some[which?] imprecise sources seem to use the term for the whole southern curve of the Tian Shan corresponding to the southern border of Kyrgyzstan, to up north until the perpendicular extension known as Fergana Range, but strictly speaking the Alay Mountains are strictly north of Alay Valley, while confusingly, Trans-Alay Range of Pamir Mountains lies to the south of that valley, as well as Turkestan Range and Zarafshan Range at far southwest. Pamir-Alay is collective term for many systems above, but not including any of the Pamirs.[citation needed]
See also
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References
edit- ^ a b Атлас Кыргызской Республики [Atlas of Kyrgyz Republic] (in Russian). Bishkek: Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyz SSR. 1987. p. 156.
- ^ Irina Merzlyakova (2002). "16 The Mountains of Central Asia and Kazakhstan". The Physical Geography of Northern Eurasia. Oxford University Press. pp. 377–402. ISBN 978-0-19-823384-8.
- ^ V.S. Burtman (2000). "Cenozoic crustal shortening between the Pamir and Tien Shan and a reconstruction of the Pamir–Tien Shan transition zone for the Cretaceous and Palaeogene" (PDF). Tectonophysics. 319 (2): 69–92. Bibcode:2000Tectp.319...69B. doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(00)00022-6.
- ^ Soviet Union military map 1:500.000 J-42-Б
- ^ Алайский хребет, Great Soviet Encyclopedia
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