Until 1997, Almaty was the main city of Kazakhstan, today it is unofficially recognized as the southern capital of this state. The wonderful city retained the qualities that had formed in it during the period when it was the center of the republic. He still has not lost his attractiveness and charm. The mountains of Almaty play a special role in this - the amazing creation of magical nature. About them will be described in this article.
Almaty: general information
The beautiful city is located at the very foot of the Zailiysky Alatau - mountains located on the extreme south-eastern part of the republic. This site represents the northern ridge of the great Tien Shan, rising from 600 to 1650 m above sea level.
In Almaty, the climate is sharply continental, in connection with this, the air temperature changes dramatically even during the day. Several small rivers flow through the territory: Malaya, Bolshaya and their tributaries. A special pride and main natural attraction are the mountains of Almaty. Their name can be found below.
The former capital is the most important state center (scientific and cultural). The city is also the sports capital of the state. It should be noted that in it in 2011 the Asian Winter Games were held. Below we consider which mountains in Almaty have the highest height.
A little about the mountains of the Northern Tien Shan system
This is the most visited mountainous area in Kazakhstan due to the proximity to it of a large metropolis. Due to the wide opportunities for the development of various types of tourism, this area is called the Ile-Kungei TRS (tourist-recreational system), which includes the following ranges: Zhetysu Alatau and Ile Alatau.
Below is more detailed information, consider the description, the name of the mountains in Almaty.
Kok-Tyube
From the Kazakh language, this name is translated as "Green Hill", and in the middle of 1900 it was called "Verigina Gora". Almost at the very foot are residential areas of Almaty. The mountain itself has a height of about 1130 meters above sea level.
Kok-Tyube is not only a natural attraction of the city, but also a place of national importance. On its slopes stands the television tower of Almaty (372 meters). To climb the mountain, you can use the road or cable car, built in 1967.
Ile Alatau
What mountains in Almaty are popular today? Among them, Ile-Alatau. It has steep slopes in the north and gently sloping in the southern part. Moreover, the northern ones almost over their entire length in front of the plain pass into a kind of hilly “counters”, and the southern slopes gradually descend into the Kazakhstan mountain valleys of Chilik and the Kyrgyz Chon-Kemin.
For Ile-Alatau, a characteristic feature of the relief is deep gorges and long moraine banks in front of the glaciers, which greatly complicates their approaches.
Kungei Alatau
With its northern slopes, Alatau descends into the valley of the river. Chilik (Zhalanash Valley), eastern - to the river. Charyn. Its valleys are gentle, but the slopes are as steep as on Mount Ile-Alatau. South descend to the lake Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan).
A feature of Kungei-Alatau is its rather high-mountain alpine plateaus, which abruptly break off towards the Chilik River. In the south, the mountains are framed by snow-ice peaks, reaching a height of up to 4000 meters or more.
