Sonkeltau

(also Sonkul’ Range, Sonkel’too), a mountain range in the Tien-Shan, in the Kirghiz SSR. The Sonkel’tau skirts the basin that contains Lake Sonkel’, framing it from the north. It measures 60 km in length and has elevations to 3,600 m. The range is composed primarily of limestones. There are alpine meadows on the northern slopes and near the crest and subalpine meadow steppes and steppes on the southern slopes.