Prelims ask
Four countries, east–west, Jengish Chokusu. An inland-drainage range.
Asia · Young fold
Tian Shan
- Countries
- West to east: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China.
- Length
- About 2,500 km. Exam-safe figure.
- Orientation
- East–west.
- Mountain type
- Young fold
- Plates
- Reactivated by India–Eurasia compression, far from the suture.
- Highest peak
- Jengish Chokusu (Pobeda / Tomur), 7,439 m, Kyrgyzstan–China.
- Rivers that rise here
- Naryn (head of the Syr Darya), Ili (to Lake Balkhash), and streams toward the Tarim. These are inland systems.
- Climate and rain shadow
- Glaciers feed the oasis rivers of Central Asia. The range walls off moisture; the basins on either side are dry.
Mains use
Example of a young, reactivated east–west range tied to interior basins rather than a coastal margin.