Tianshan Mountains

A mountain range that runs east-west from eastern Central Asia to the central part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. It is 2,500 km long, and 1,700 km long within China. It is composed of several parallel rows of folds and faults at an altitude of 4,000 to 6,000 meters, and divides the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region into the north and south. The mountain range is roughly divided into three parts: the north, the middle, and the south. The northern Tianshan has developed glaciers and receives relatively high rainfall, and there is a lake called Tianchi at an altitude of 1,900 meters on the middle slope of Mount Bogda (5,445 meters) in the east, where a coniferous forest belt is well developed. The middle Tianshan is somewhat lower, with many basins such as the Ili River Valley. It has a humid climate, with grasslands and cultivated land, and livestock farming and agriculture are thriving. The southern Tianshan has the highest peak of the Tianshan, Tomur Peak (7,443 meters), and many high mountains, but it is an arid region with almost no forests. In addition, at the southeastern end of the Tianshan Mountains is the Turfan Basin, a depression surrounded by the Bogda and Chortag mountain ranges, which has a unique hot and dry climate.

[Shoichi Komai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中央アジア東部から中国新疆(しんきょう)ウイグル自治区中央部までを東西に走る山脈。全長2500キロメートル、中国内は約1700キロメートル。標高4000～6000メートルで、数列の平行した褶曲(しゅうきょく)・断層山脈からなり、新疆ウイグル自治区を北と南に分ける。山脈はおおむね北、中、南の三つに分けられる。北天山山脈は氷河が発達し比較的雨量が多く、東方のボグダ山（5445メートル）の中腹1900メートルの地点には天池があり、針葉樹林帯が発達している。中天山山脈はやや低く、イリ河谷などの盆地が多い。湿潤な気候を示し、草原や耕地が広がり、牧畜、農業が盛んである。南天山山脈には天山山脈の最高峰トムール峰（7443メートル）があり高山が多いが、乾燥地域で森林帯はほとんどみられない。また、天山山脈の南東端にはボグダ山脈とチョルタグ山脈とに囲まれた陥没盆地のトゥルファン盆地があり、高温乾燥の独特な気候を示している。

［駒井正一］

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