Aralsor ( kk, Аралсор; russian: Аралсор) is a bittern salt lake in

Bokey Orda District Bokey Orda ( kk, Бөкей Орда ауданы, ) is a district of West Kazakhstan Region in western Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the selo of Saykyn. Population: Geography Lake Aralsor Aralsor ( kk, Арал� ...

West Kazakhstan Region West Kazakhstan Region ( kk, Батыс Қазақстан облысы, translit=Batys Qazaqstan oblysy; russian: Западно-Казахстанская область, translit=Zapadno-Kazakhstanskaya oblast) is a region of Kazakhstan. The re ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. The lake lies about to the east of the Russian border, north of the R-97 Highway (Kazakhstan). The road connects

Saykyn Saykhin ( kz, Сайқын, ''Saiqyn''; russian: Сайхин) is a village in far western Kazakhstan on the border with Russia. It is the administrative center of Bokey Orda District in West Kazakhstan Region. Population: Geography Lake Botkul ...

station of the

Volga Railway The Privolzhskaya Railway (Приволжская железная дорога; "Volga Railway") is a subsidiary of the Russian Railways headquartered in Saratov. It serves the Saratov, Volgograd, and Astrakhan regions of Russia. Its three branch ...

near lake

Botkul Botkul ( kk, Боткөл; russian: Боткуль) is a bittern salt lake in the Kazakhstan–Russia border. There is no salt mining at the lake. Its waters have a bitter, stinging taste and a strong smell of hydrogen sulfide. The authorities ...

with the village of

Taipak Taipak ( kk, Тайпақ), until 1996 known as Kalmykovo (russian: Калмыково) is a village in western Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of Taipak Rural District (KATO code - 273273100), Akzhaik District in the West Kazakhstan ...

on the right bank of the

Ural River The Ural (russian: Урал, ), known before 1775 as Yaik (russian: Яик, ba, Яйыҡ, translit=Yayıq, ; kk, Жайық, translit=Jaiyq, ), is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan in the continental border between Europe and Asia ...

. Salt extraction on an industrial scale is carried out at the lake.

Geography

Lying at the northern edge of the

Ryn Desert The Ryn Desert or Ryn-Peski Desert ( kk, Нарын құмы, ''Naryn-Qūmy''; russian: Рын-пески) is a desert in western Kazakhstan and Astrakhan Oblast, Russia. High winds sweep across the desert, and in 2001 a dust storm in the Balti ...

, east of the Russian border, Aralsor is an

endorheic lake An endorheic lake (also called a sink lake or terminal lake) is a collection of water within an endorheic basin, or sink, with no evident outlet. Endorheic lakes are generally saline as a result of being unable to get rid of solutes left in the l ...

. The main water body is colored pink and is surrounded by a string of smaller lakes and salt pans. The latter contain clay salt-mud deposits covered with a crust of

halite Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, p ...

reaching . The western and eastern banks of Aralsor are steep and cliff-like in places.Аралсор
''

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

'' in 30 vols. — Ch. ed.

A.M. Prokhorov Alexander Mikhailovich Prokhorov (born Alexander Michael Prochoroff, russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Про́хоров; 11 July 1916 – 8 January 2002) was an Australian-born Soviet-Russian physicist known ...

. - 3rd ed. - M. Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978. (in Russian) Flowing from the north, the Ashchyozek is the main river feeding the waters of Aralsor. The channels connecting the river with the lake are periodically dry.

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

Flora and fauna

There is desert and steppe vegetation in the terraced flat areas of the Aralsor lakeside cliff-like formations. In the ravines of the shoreline cliffs there are plants such as

tamarisk The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tam ...

anabasis Anabasis (from Greek ''ana'' = "upward", ''bainein'' = "to step or march") is an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. Anabase and Anabasis may also refer to: History * ''Anabasis Alexandri'' (''Anabasis of Alexander''), a ...

, '' Halocnemum'' and

winterfat ''Krascheninnikovia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae known as winterfat, so-called because it is a nutritious livestock forage. They are known from Eurasia and western North America. Th ...

, providing a habitat and breeding ground for the local fauna of small mammals, birds and reptiles.ЧУДО АРАЛСОРА: СТЕПНАЯ ЭКСПЕДИЦИЯ РГО ОБСЛЕДОВАЛА УНИКАЛЬНОЕ ОЗЕРО В СЕВЕРНОМ ПРИКАСПИИ
(in Russian)

References

External links

*
Tourism and recreational potential of the salt lakes of Western Kazakhstan
Lakes of Kazakhstan Endorheic lakes of Asia West Kazakhstan Region {{Kazakhstan-geo-stub cs:Aralsor ka:არალსორი kk:Аралсор (көл, Бөкей ордасы ауданы) lt:Aralsoras ru:Аралсор

Geography

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links