Sarykol

a mountain range in the eastern Pamirs, extending along the border between the USSR (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, Tadzhik SSR) and China. The Sarykol’ Range forms the watershed between the basins of the Tarim River, Lake Karakul’, and the Amu Darya. The southern and northern sections of the range extend from north to south; the central section runs more or less from west to east, skirting the northern edge of the depression with Lakes Shorkul’ and Rang-kul’. The mountains rise to an elevation of 6,351 m at Mount Liavirdyr and extend for approximately 350 km. They are composed primarily of schists and granitoids. There is extensive glaciation in the northern section, covering an area of 143.8 sq km within the USSR. Sparse vegetation typical of cold high-mountain deserts—primarily pulvinate plants—grows on the lower slopes.