Lake Balqash

Coordinates: 46°10′N 74°20′E / 46.167°N 74.333°E / 46.167; 74.333
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lake Balkhash
Балқаш Көлі
Озеро Балхаш
View from Space, April 1991
Map of the Lake Balkhash drainage basin
LocationKazakhstan
Coordinates46°10′N 74°20′E / 46.167°N 74.333°E / 46.167; 74.333
TypeEndorheic, Saline
Primary inflowsIli, Karatal, Aksu, Lepsy, Byan, Kapal, Koksu rivers
Primary outflowsevaporation
Basin countries Kazakhstan 85%
 China 15%
Max. length605 km (376 mi)
Max. widthEast 19 km (12 mi)
West 74 km (46 mi)
Surface area16,400 km2 (6,300 sq mi)
Average depth5.8 m (19 ft)
Max. depth26 m (85 ft)
Water volume106 cu mi (440 km3)
Surface elevation341.4 m (1,120 ft)
FrozenNovember to March
Islands43
SettlementsBalkhash, Priozersk (en), Saryshaghan (en), Shashubai

Lake Balkhash (Kazakh: Балқаш Көлі, Balqash kóli) is located in Kazakhstan. It is one of the largest lakes in Asia and 15th largest in the world (en).[1]

It belongs to a Central Asian endorheic basin shared by Kazakhstan, China, and Kyrgyzstan. Water moves from the basin to Balqash via seven rivers. The most important one is the Ili River. Water in the Ili River comes from melted snow from the mountains of China's Xinjiang.

The name of Lake Balkhash is the word balkaš, which in Turkic languages means “swampy area” (or marshland).[2]

History[change | change source]

The first Europeans to receive information about the lake were William of Rubruk (en) and Pian del Carpine (en) in the 13th century.

In 1886, Russian researcher Ivan Mushketov (en) wrote the book “Turkestan”, in which he wrote all the known information about Lake Balkhash.[3]

In 1903-1904, the Russian Geographical Society (en) explored the lake, the leader of the study was Lev Berg (en).

Geography[change | change source]

Lake Balkhash is a large, closed, and slightly saline lake. It is located in the arid (dry) zone of Central Asia on southeast of Kazakhstan.

Saryesik peninsula, located in the middle of the lake divides it into two parts that are different from each other.

Its length is 605 km, its width varies from 9 to 19 km in the east parts and up to 74 km - in the western.

The lake borders four regions: Almaty Region, the southeastern part of Karaganda Region, southwestern part of East Kazakhstan Region and eastern - Zhambyl Region, as well as the northwestern part of the province Xinjiang of China.

Climate

The climate in the lake area is semi-desert. The average temperature in July is about 24 °C (75.2 °F), in January about -8 °C. Precipitation averages 120 mm per year. Relative air humidity is 55-60%.[4]

The average annual wind speed is about 4.5-4.8 meters per second. The surface water temperature ranges from 0 °C (32 °F) in December to 28 °C (82.4 °F) in July; at depth it changes little (temperature difference is no more than 3.3 °C). The lake freezes every year; the ice usually lasts from November to March-April.[4]

References[change | change source]

  1. "Lake Balkhash". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. NASA Earth Observatory. 2017-10-09. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  2. Vasper, Max (2007). "Что такое Балкаш" [What is Balkhash]. Этимологический русскоязычный словарь Фасмера (Vasmer's etymological Russian-language dictionary) (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  3. In full, "Turkestan. Description of Geology and Relief on the basis of data collected during travels in 1874–1880". St Petersburg, 2 volumes (in Russian).
  4. 4.0 4.1 "ГИДРОГРАФИЧЕСКАЯ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКА ОЗЕРА БАЛХАШ" [HYDROGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF LAKE BALKHASH]. su-zholdary.kz (in Russian). Republican state-owned enterprise of the Transport Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Retrieved 2023-11-18.