NARYN

oblasty (province), southeastern Kyrgyzstan, with an area of 19,700 square miles (51,100 square km). The least accessible part of the republic, inhabited mainly by Kyrgyz people, it occupies the inner Tien Shan at an elevation of 4,300 feet (1,300 m) or more and is separated from the rest of Kyrgyzstan by mountain ranges. On the frontier with China in the south, the Kokshaal-Tau Range rises to 19,626 feet (5,982 m). The climate is continental, and annual precipitation is only 8 to 12 inches (200 to 300 mm) in the valleys. Sheep, raised on the extensive steppe and alpine pastures, are the mainstay of the economy. There is little industry, but the exploitation of the hydroelectric potential of the Naryn River, which bisects the oblast east-west, was begun with the At-Bashy power station (1970) near the administrative centre, Naryn. The population is concentrated in the Kochkor, Jumgol, middle Naryn, At-Bashy, and Toguz-Toro valleys. Pop. (1987 est.) 263,000. city and administrative centre of Naryn oblasty (province), Kyrgyzstan. It lies along the Naryn River at an elevation of 6,725 feet (2,050 m). Founded as a fortified point on the trade route from Kashgar in Sinkiang to the Chu River valley, it was made a city in 1927. Naryn has a number of small industries and a music and drama theatre. Pop. (1979) 30,409.