Between the ice and the flames. What is the geographical uniqueness of Almaty?

In this publication, we propose to look at Almaty from a slightly different angle and learn more about the unique geographical features of this city.

The cultural capital of Kazakhstan is a classic city of contrasts. It is located on the edge of two diametric geographical elements – the mountain region, which stretches from here to the Himalayas and breaks off to the sultry Indo-Gangetic lowland, on the one hand, and the great steppe, which continues through the West Siberian lowland to the icy Arctic Ocean, on the other. At the same time, here, on the “Almaty edge”, tropical heat and Arctic cold are at a distance of sight. In summer, from the city streets of the metropolis, both hot deserts and melting glaciers are visible at the same time.

Альпийские вершины видны в Алматы отовсюду. Фото ©kazakhstan.travel

Reserved by nature!

It is important that the border between deserts and glaciers is not smeared here on the map. On the contrary, the glacier-crowned ridge of the Trans-Ili Alatau rises sharply above the city to a height of four kilometers. Which, generally speaking, is quite rare on Earth. Usually the peaks of high mountains and plains are separated by such a long strip of foothills that it is not that difficult to see the high Alpine peaks from the foothills-it is simply impossible.

By the way, the name of the Trans-Ili this northern ridge of the Tien Shan received with the light hand of Peter Semenov (at that time not yet become the Tien Shan), who first saw it during the “scientific reconnaissance” of 1856:

“On August 29 … crossing the porphyry ridge … for the first time I saw with delight in the misty distance the gigantic ridge – the Trans-Ili Alatau-shining with its eternal snows.”

Озеро у ледника Богдановича, одного из ближайших к Алматы. Фото ©kazakhstan.travel

It was Semyonov who first realized the geographical uniqueness of the Faithful, new settlement, founded on the very edge of the then Russian Empire (the current city of Almaty):

“Nowhere in Eurasia have I been able to see higher mountains so close, since in the Swiss Alps, in the Caucasus, in Turkestan, and even in the higher Tien Shan, gigantic snow crests are visible only from great absolute heights and nowhere reach the height of 4000-4500 meters above the viewer, which is the ridge of the Trans-Ili Alatau, directly rising above the Ili lowland.”

The certificate of the father of Russian geography is worth a lot!

Урюк цветет на фоне снежных гор – алматинская картинка. Фото ©kazakhstan.travel

Tangible geography

If on a fine and clear day (ideally, after a night of rain) you go up to the upper part of the city (to the level of Satpayev Avenue) and stand in the alignment of some city street running from south to north, then you will see an amazing picture that is impossible in any other place on Earth. To the north, beyond the city limits, as far as your eyes can see, there will be only a vast flat plain ending in a straight line of the horizon. And the view to the south will be blocked by the grandiose jagged ridge of the Trans-Ili Alatau in all its glory.

If you look to the north, you can see the yellow array, which is visible behind the Almaty blocks and the green strip of suburban fields. This is a real sandy desert-Moyinkum, framing the dry Karoy plateau from the east. The Moyinkum sands stretch in a narrow strip behind the Kaskelen River and rest against the Kapchagai reservoir. From the city center to this desert – about 25 kilometers.

Барханы в пустыне Мойынкум. Фото ©kazakhstan.travel

Turning 180 degrees, we will see the symbol of the southern capital of Kazakhstan – the majestic mountains. These are real mountain glaciers of glacial groups in the upper reaches of the Malaya Almatinka and Talgar rivers. Glaciers hundreds of meters thick and kilometers long line the sky-high valleys and hang from the Alpine peaks. To these glaciers – the same 25 kilometers.

Ice and fire are separated in Almaty by only 50 kilometers. And most of the space between them is occupied by the streets and houses of the city.

Вид на город с панорамы ближайшей горки Кок-Тобе. Фото ©kazakhstan.travel

Hence the unique recreational feature of the city of Almaty, which can not be found anywhere else on Earth. Only here, in just a few hours, anyone can pass and see everything that lies between the hot desert zone and the cold Arctic region. At the same time, having overcome all the way on public transport.

The phenomenally favorable location of the metropolis provides unique opportunities for the development of mountain sports, tourism and a variety of outdoor activities. On many of the surrounding four-thousand-foot mountains, local climbers and mountain lovers go as on an ordinary Sunday walk-in one day. It is worth noting that in Almaty there is even such an endemic sport as weekend mountaineering.

Информация взята с сайта Tengritravel.kz