1. The Geographical Position and Borders of Kyrgyzstan

A Grade 8 Geography topic: «The Geographical Position and Borders of Kyrgyzstan» (pp. 6–11, A. O. Osmonov). Kyrgyzstan lies in the central part of the Eurasian landmass, far from the oceans and seas, in the southern part of the temperate belt. Its total area is 198.5 thousand km²; it measures 925 km from west to east and 459 km from north to south. The northernmost point is on the flood plain of the Chuy river, the easternmost a 6210 m peak at the head of the Enilchek glacier. The border line is 4508 km long: 1113 km with Kazakhstan, 1374 km with Uzbekistan, 972 km with Tajikistan and 1049 km with China. The border with Kazakhstan starts at the «Uzlovaya» peak (6148 m), and the border with China runs from Erkech-Tam (5820 m) to Jengish Chokusu (7439 m). In the Fergana valley there is no natural border with Uzbekistan, and there are enclaves such as Sokh. The Kyrgyz state became independent on 31 August 1991 and is one of the developing countries.