The Eñilchek Glacier

The Enilchek glacier is considered one of the largest glaciers in Kyrgyzstan, if not the largest, and also the fastest. Fast because all glaciers move at different speeds, from 10 to 200 meters per year, and Enilchek moves faster than others. It is located on the very border with China, east of Lake Issyk-Kul, and its length reaches 60 kilometers. The highest mountains of Kyrgyzstan are also located in these parts: Pobeda Peak (7439 m), Khan-Tengri (6995 m) and other six-thousanders. The Enilchek glacier, and this is a whole glacial massif, can be divided into North and South, while it is the South that is usually meant by the Enilsek glacier as a whole - its area reaches almost 570 km2. At its foot, edelweiss and other mountain flowers grow, but at the top, winds always rage and perennial snows lie. The thickness of ice in the lower parts of the tongue of the glacier reaches 150-200 meters, and in its upper parts it can reach up to 500 meters. The outlines of the glacier on maps and photographs from space resemble a tree, the branches of which are light in color, as well as of different lengths and thicknesses.