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E8145-Chu-River

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan Canyon

Boom Gorge

1,378 m from rim to floor.

See the cutWhen to go

Vmenkov · CC BY-SA 3.0

The cut

1,378 metres, to scale.

A slice through Boom Gorge where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

2,826 m3,269 m1,378 m20 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 1.12,826 m3,269 m1,378 m20 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 2.3

Standing on the floor, to scale: Eiffel Tower · 330 m · Burj Khalifa · 828 m

Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.

1,378m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

19.9km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

39°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

1,449m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

12 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 28 °C on the floor, against 17 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from May to June and from August to September. The rim freezes at night from September to May. The wettest months are from April to May.

rim · 3,269 mfloor · 1,449 m
  1. 1°-11°Jan
  2. 4°-8°Feb
  3. 11°-1°Mar
  4. 16°5°Apr
  5. 21°9°May
  6. 25°13°Jun
  7. 28°17°Jul
  8. 28°17°Aug
  9. 24°12°Sep
  10. 16°4°Oct
  11. 9°-3°Nov
  12. 3°-9°Dec
Hike: May–Jun, Aug–SepFrost on the rim: Sep–MayWettest: Apr–May

Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.

Gorge in Kyrgyzstan

Boom Gorge is a canyon in Kyrgyzstan. The relief model measures 1,378 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,820 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 20 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Keminnearest town · 24 km in a straight line
  • Parking 530 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 3.0 km from the floor
  • Issyk-Kul International Airport (IKU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 74 km in a straight lineCar hire at ALA airport (Almaty)Discover Cars · sponsored link
  • From May to June and from August to Septemberbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The river

The the river runs highest from April to June.

The the river carries about 27 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to June, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from August to January.

  1. 14 m³/sJan
  2. 25 m³/sFeb
  3. 44 m³/sMar
  4. 74 m³/sApr
  5. 88 m³/sMay
  6. 71 m³/sJun
  7. 37 m³/sJul
  8. 11 m³/sAug
  9. 0.0 m³/sSep
  10. 2.1 m³/sOct
  11. 1.2 m³/sNov
  12. 10 m³/sDec

From about 0.00 m³/s in the lowest month to 88 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 6,964 km².

Follow the Chu River from source to mouth on Riveryas

Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.

From the sky.

The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.

Boom Gorge seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 6 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

  • 4viewpoints within 5 kmКаньон Конорчек and 3 more
  • 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmКонорчек капчыгайлары
  • 2car parks within 3 km
  • 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 1bus stops within 2 km
  • 2campsites within 8 kmВ сухую погоду
  • via ferrata routes within 4 km
  • climbing crags within 3 km
  • footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
  • rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
  • swimming spots within 3 km
  • named waterfalls within 4 km
  • caves within 3 km
  • hotels and guesthouses within 8 km
  • restaurants and cafés within 4 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Kemin24 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Boom Gorge.

The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.

Peakyas7 mountains within 15 km
Gora Ujbulak · 8.2 kmGora Sarykungej · 10 kmGora Sagyschansjoky · 11 kmGora Onortjek · 12 kmGory Oktorkoi · 13 kmGora Bala-Tegerek · 13 kmGora Baybishen-Saur · 13 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather, at the floor and at the rim.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor14111621252828241693
Afternoon · rim-11-8-159131717124-3-9
Night · rim-24-21-13-8-4022-3-9-14-21
Rain (mm)172336554936241716312924
Rainy days56810109743666
Sun hours/day6.27.27.67.28.89.49.910.19.06.65.05.5
Snow on the ground (cm)181815104000191618
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan1-11-24176.2
Feb4-8-21237.2
Mar11-1-13367.6
Apr165-8557.2
May219-4498.8
Jun25130369.4
Jul28172249.9
Aug281721710.1
Sep2412-3169.0
Oct164-9316.6
Nov9-3-14295.0
Dec3-9-21245.5

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,449 m) and the rim (3,269 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Boom Gorge 03
Vilya Shoni · CC BY 4.0
E8149-BoomGorge-mountains
Vmenkov · CC BY-SA 3.0
Boom Gorge 01
Vilya Shoni · CC BY 4.0

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202060%142%60%122%82%79%101%185%87%20%45%93%
202158%84%120%67%49%124%48%91%26%101%158%243%
202258%67%190%58%155%55%88%52%17%89%263%33%
2023107%120%67%44%29%131%59%64%75%35%48%54%
202451%142%49%37%670%50%105%110%83%63%48%27%
202531%9%46%14%33%40%41%73%64%17%12%60%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Compare with the neighbours.

Boom Gorge

Kyrgyzstan

  • 1,378 mDepth
  • 20 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 39°Steepest wall

Butakovsky gorge

Kazakhstan · 116 km

  • 239 mDepth
  • 18 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 26°Steepest wall

See the guide

Barskaun Canyon

Kyrgyzstan · 155 km

  • 672 mDepth
  • 21 kmRim to rim
  • 60 kmLength
  • 31°Steepest wall

See the guide

Charyn Canyon

Kazakhstan · 282 km

  • 162 mDepth
  • 2.1 kmRim to rim
  • 85 kmLength
  • 24°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q2047083) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here