There are more than forty thousand lakes in sunny Kazakhstan. Over 4,000 artificial reservoirs have also been built there, collecting huge reserves of fresh water.
The quality and quantity of lake water differs depending on the natural zones: in the forest-steppe zones there are approximately 740 lakes, in the steppe zones - more than 1870, in semi-deserts - 216, in desert territories - 142. The total area of the water surface of all lakes reaches 45 thousand sq. kilometers. The largest of them are Zaisan, Alakol, Balkhash, Sasykkol and Seletteniz. These include the bitter-s alty lake Tengiz, which will be discussed in this article.
Most of the lakes stretch on the Turan and Caspian lowlands, on the West Siberian plain, in the mountainous regions of the south-east of the state and in the low mountains of Saryarka. Almost all of them are endorheic, therefore they contain s alt water. S alt is being mined in many reservoirs.
Drainless lake: location, dimensions
The lake is located on the territory of the State Kurgalzhinsky Reserve, in a tectonic depression, in the very center of Sary-Arka (small hills). In Lake Tengiz, which has many small islands,the rivers Kulanutpes and Nura flow in.
The area of the natural reservoir is 1590 square meters. kilometers, its length along the length is 75 km, the depth reaches 8 meters in places, and the width is 40 kilometers.
Description
The bottom of the reservoir is flat, in places made up of black silt, suitable for medicinal purposes. The water is s alty.
Lake Tengiz in Kazakhstan is quite large, its dimensions are three times larger than Lake Constance. The shores of the reservoir are mostly low-lying. The lake is fed mainly by the waters of melted snow. In the driest years, a significant part of the lake dries up. In December, Tengiz freezes, and in April it opens up. The composition of the water includes mirabilite (the salinity in the lake is from 3 to 12.7 grams per m³, and in the bay - 18.2 grams per m³).
Tengiz is significant in that for the first time in the history of Soviet cosmonautics, the crew of the Soyuz-23 space expedition successfully splashed down into it.
Lake feature
The uniqueness of Lake Tengiz is that it is one of several habitats of an amazingly beautiful fabulous bird - the northernmost breeding population of pink flamingos in the world.
These are very cautious birds, choosing places for nesting that are difficult for people to reach. It is not surprising that they settled on the islands of this lake: some parts of it are covered with a s alt crust. Up to 14 thousand pairs nest here at the same time, and the number of individuals in total can reach 60,000.
Inhabithere are quite rare black storks, red-breasted geese and whooper swans. Proud steppe eagles soar above the lake in the endless steppe sky. Only fish are not here.
Shared ecosystem
Since 1968, most of the territory around Lake Tengiz has been a nature protection zone and is part of the Kurgaldzhinsky reserve hunting area. In general, the lake is unattractive for waterfowl hunting birds such as geese and ducks, but is an excellent nesting place for gulls, waders and terns. Reed beds provide shelter for many species of waterfowl, not only during their nesting season, but also during the molting season (end of summer) and during autumn and spring migrations.
In this unique protected area, scientists have counted 50 species of mammals, 318 species of birds and 340 species of plants. Special mention should be made of such animals as steppe wolves and saigas. In addition to the aforementioned flamingos, Dalmatian pelicans listed in the Red Book (500 pairs in total) nest on the numerous islands of the endorheic Lake Tengiz. In the steppes you can also meet the Numidian crane.
On the significance of the reserve
Preservation of the ecosystem that has developed around the lakes is very important not only for Kazakhstan, because in these places two significant bird migration routes intersect - Siberian-South European and Central Asian. The geographical (center of the Eurasian continent) unique location of the reserve is of great importance. Availabilitysuch a lake system within such an area (territories with a semi-arid climate - steppes and semi-deserts) is very important.
Traces of human impact on the nature of these places are minimal, so the territory has retained its natural appearance. Today, without exaggeration, we can say that this unique territory belongs entirely to nature, which created such riches.
Conclusion
Lake Tengiz goes down in history as the venue for today's most important event. In the future, an annual festival called "Flamingo" is planned to be held in the Korgalzhyn Reserve.
This event, which aims to draw attention to the conservation of rare bird species and not only, is supported by the Biodiversity Conservation Fund of Kazakhstan and EIMRC (Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation). This corner of Kazakhstan with numerous lakes is unique and beautiful.
