(also Talas Alatoo), a mountain range in the Tien-Shan, situated mainly in the Kirghiz SSR. The Talas Alatau separates the Talas Valley from the ranges and valleys of the Western Tien-Shan and from the western part of the Inner Tien-Shan. The range measures approximately 270 km in length and rises to an elevation of 4,482 m at Mount Manas. It is composed primarily of schists and granites. The crest is craggy, and glaciers are encountered. Landforms include rocky highlands, high mountain meadows, and subalpine and alpine meadow steppes. The slopes have steppe and forest-meadow-steppe landforms.