Chu-Ili Range

The Chu-Ili Range is ancient and heavily eroded. It is part of the Trans-Ili Alatau, a northern extension of the Tian Shan. It begins to the north of Otar, west of the Kurty, one of the main tributaries of the Ili river, and stretches in a roughly northwestern direction for less than . The Chu River flows to the west of the range and to the northeast stretches the Zhusandala Plain and the Taukum desert of the Balkhash-Alakol Basin. ==Flora==

Generally, the mountains of the range have a barren look. The slopes are covered with rough desert-steppe vegetation of sagebrush and fescue. Grasses, tulips, irises and poppies bloom in spring when water flows in the ravines, including Tulipa regelii, a rare species of tulip endemic to the range. ==See also==