Set in the Eastern Kyrgyz Mountain Range, the dramatic, arid Konorchak Canyons stretch for 125 miles across the heights which were formed 1.5 million years ago by volcanic action. Wind and water erosion has sculptured the original plateaus into fantastic pierced stone pillars soaring over 1,600 feet above their bases. The vast moonscape contains an extinct volcano, with its slopes holding huge, fossilized seashells and the sparse vegetation of the region grows to sizes unusually large for the species.