Lake Alakol
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lake Alakol Алакөл |
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| Location | Almaty and East Kazakhstan Province, Kazakhstan |
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| Lake type | salt lake |
| Basin countries | Kazakhstan |
| Surface area | 2,650 km² |
| Max. depth | 54 m |
| Water volume | 58.6 km³ |
| Surface elevation | 347 m |
Lake Alakol (Kazakh: Алакөл, Turkic "motley lake") is a lake located at 347 m altitude in the Almaty and Shyghyz provinces, east central Kazakhstan, is the northwest extension of the region known as the Dzhungarian Gate. This narrow valley connects the southern uplands of Kazakhstan with arid northwest China. The Dzhungarian Gate is a fault-bounded valley (see vertical line on the image along the southwest side of the lake) where the elevation of the valley floor is between 350-450 m above sea level and the peaks of the Dzhungarsky Alatau range (lower left) reach 4,463 m above sea level. Two, well-defined alluvial fans are visible where mountain streams cut through the faulted landscape (southwest side of lake).
Lake Alakol, a salt lake, has a drainage basin of 65,200 km² and receives water periodically from the southerly draining Urdzhar River at the north end of the lake. The surface area of the lake is 2,650 km², and is 54 m deep at its maximum depth, with a volume of 58.6 km³. A swampy, lowland connects the northwest end of Lake Alakol with the lighter-colored Lake Sasykkol (bottom center).
The Alakol State Sanctuary has been created to protect the area for the lake is an important breeding and nesting ground for various wetland birds, notably the very rare Relict Gull. The Birdy Island has flocks of flamengo, and 40 species of other birds.
Agricultural activity in this arid region is limited to areas where adequate moisture is available, mainly along ephemeral streambeds and in the deltas and alluvial fans.
The Bronze Age Alakul culture is situated in the general region of the lake. In the middle of the 1st century BCE the Lake Alakol marked an eastern end of the Kangar state, shown on Chinese maps of the Western territory.
