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Zaysan Lake
Lake Zaysan (, ''Zaısan kóli'', زايسان كؤلئ, ; , ''Zaisan nuur'', en: ''Noble lake''; , ''Ozero Zajsan''; , Xiao'erjing: جَىْصْا پْ; dng, Җэсонпә) is a freshwater lake, ca. 1,810 km² (700 mi²), in eastern Kazakhstan, in a hollow between the Altai and the Tarbagatai Mountains. It is the largest lake in the East Kazakhstan Region. The lake lies at an altitude of 420 m, is 105 km long and 22–48 km wide, with a maximum depth of 15 m. Its major tributaries are the ''Kara Irtysh'' (Black Irtysh) and Kendyrlyk from the east; its only outlet is the Irtysh River (or White Irtysh). The lake is generally frozen from the beginning of November to the end of April, but still has an abundance of fish. Since the construction of the Bukhtarma dam on the Irtysh downstream from the Zaysan, the lake has risen 6 m (20 ft) above its natural level. As the result, the area of lake essentially increased (nearly doubled: from about 1,800 k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Lake
An ancient lake is a lake that has consistently carried water for more than one million years. Many have existed for more than 2.6 million years, the full Quaternary period. Ancient lakes continue to persist due to plate tectonics in an active rift zone. This active rift zone creates lakes that are extremely deep and difficult to naturally fill with sediment. Due to the prolonged life of ancient lakes, they serve as models for isolated evolutionary traits and speciation. Most of the world's bodies of water are less than 18,000 years old. There are only 20 ancient lakes over 1 million years old. Lake Baikal is often considered the oldest, as clear evidence shows that it is 25–30 million years old. Lake Zaysan may be even older, of Cretaceous origin and at least 66 million years old (most likely around 70 million years), but its exact age is controversial and labelled with some uncertainty. Another contender for oldest is Lake Maracaibo, estimated to be 20–36 million years o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
