The Jetim-Bel Range () is a mountain range in the Inner Tien Shan of Kyrgyzstan. It forms a meganticline separating the basins of the Chong-Naryn and Kichi-Naryn rivers, extending eastâÂÂwest from the bend of the Arabel River to the Ayköl Pass. The range has an average elevation of about , reaching a maximum height of at Söök Peak.
The range is relatively even, lacking sharply protruding peaks. Its slopes are steep and deeply dissected by trough-shaped valleys with cirque basins at their heads. Numerous geomorphological featuresâÂÂancient peneplains, glacial boulders, and stepped valleysâÂÂtestify to extensive past glaciation.
The relative height above the Arabel and Upper Naryn valleys in the east is , while in the west the range rises above the Burkan and Archaly valleys.
The range consists primarily of Upper Proterozoic granites, granite-diorites, phyllites, quartzites, and crystalline limestones. The Söök section contains marbleized and dolomitic limestones along with graphite-bearing phyllites. These ancient formations were uplifted during the NeogeneâÂÂQuaternary periods, creating the present high-mountain relief.
The Jetim-Bel Range is glaciated, with glaciers occupying a total area of . Glaciation increases eastward, and the upper parts of many valleys terminate in cirques shaped by past and present glacial activity.
Major passes shaped by glacial processes include:
On the southern slopes, the vegetation zones include semi-desert at elevations of , dry steppe at , alpine meadows at , and glacialâÂÂnival landscapes above .
The northern slopes are characterized by meadow-steppe at , subnival landscapes at , and glacialâÂÂnival zones above .