Abstract. Ground temperature measurements have been carried out at eleven different sites of the Prokhodnaja valley in the high mountains of the Zailijskij Alatau (Northern Tian Shan, Kazakhstan) between the summers of 2003 and 2004. For this purpose the periglacial zone and adjacent altitudinal zones have been examined between 2,500 and 4,000 m asl with an equidistance of 250 m. The influences of the altitude, the exposure as well as the depth below the earth’s surface on the thermal content and condition of periglacial soils have been considered. The measurements provide useful information about the relations between quantity and quality of freeze-thaw action and the parameters mentioned above.