Sary Jaz River

The Sary Jaz River flows through China's Xinjiang province and Kyrgyzstan's Ak-Suu District in the Issyk-Kul Province. In Kyrgyzstan, the top portion is known as the Saryjaz (Kyrgyz: apа). Kumarik refers to the area between the Kyrgyz-Chinese border and the confluence with the Toshkan.

The Sary Jaz river's overall length is 282 kilometers (175 miles), with 197 kilometers (122 miles) in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan has a drainage basin of 12,900 square kilometers (5,000 square miles). The Aksu is the only Tarim source river that flows continuously throughout the year.

The river originates near the Semyonov glacier in Kyrgyzstan's Central Tian Shan mountains, close to the Kazakhstan-China border. From here, it goes west before turning south and bursting through the steep mountains into Xinjiang in the Tarim Basin's northern reaches. It joins its major tributary, the Toshkan (Kakshaal), which comes in from the west, at the city of Aksu. The river continues south after the junction, entering the Taklamakan Desert's northern border, where it meets the Tarim River.

Length: 165 km