The Emil ( kz, Еміл, ''Emıl''; russian: Эмель ''Emel'') or Emin (), also spelled Emel, Imil, etc., is a river in China and Kazakhstan. It flows through Tacheng (Tarbagatay) Prefecture of China's

Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

and the

East Kazakhstan Province East Kazakhstan Region ( kk, Шығыс Қазақстан облысы, translit=Şyğys Qazaqstan oblysy; russian: Восточно-Казахстанская область, Vostochno-Kazakhstanskaya oblast) is a region of Kazakhstan. It occupi ...

of Kazakhstan, and is one of the principal affluents of

Lake Alakol Alakol Lake ( kk, Алакөл, , from Turkic "motley lake") is a lake located in the Balkhash-Alakol Basin, part of the Almaty and Shyghyz regions, east central Kazakhstan. Its elevation is above sea level. The lake is the northwest extensio ...

. The Emil River is the principal watercourse of the

Emin Valley The Emin Valley () is located on the China–Kazakhstan border, in Central Asia. It has an area of about . Its main waterway is the Emil River. Administratively, the Emin Valley occupies areas of Tacheng Prefecture in the Xinjiang Region of no ...

, the plain bounded by the

Tarbagatai Mountains The Tarbagatai Mountains ( mn, , , translit. ''Tarvagatai nuruu'', literally: "range with marmots"; ; kk, Тарбағатай жотасы, ''Tarbağatai jotasy'') are a range of mountains located in the north-western parts of Xinjiang, China, ...

in the north, the Barlyk Mountains () in the southeast and Lake Alakol in the west. The Emil's headwaters are two streams, the Sary Emil ("Yellow Emil") and Kara Emil ("Black Emil"), which rise near the Sino-Kazakh border in the Tarbagatai Mountains, near the Tarbagatai's junction with the

Saur Saur may refer to: * Saur (company) a French utility company * Saur (restaurant), Michelin starred restaurant in The Hague, Netherlands * Dog king - a Scandinavian tradition * Saur 1 - an APC developed by ROMARM * K. G. Saur Verlag, German publ ...

. The two Emils flow in the west-south-western direction, eventually joining together, across

Dörbiljin County Emin County, the official romanized name, also transliterated from Mongolian as Dörbiljin County, is a county situated in the north of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Tacheng Prefecture, bordering Kaz ...

(which is called in Chinese as Emin County, after the river). The river continues it flow to the west, the border of

Tacheng TachengThe official spelling according to (), as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Mongolian as Qoqak, is a county-level city (1994 est. pop. 56,400) and the administrative seat of Tacheng Prefecture, in northern Ili Kazakh A ...

City and

Yumin County Yumin County as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Mongolian as Qagantokay County, is a county situated in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Tacheng Prefecture, bordering Kazakhstan's ...

mostly following its course. The Emil crosses the Sino-Kazakh border at , and after a short stretch in Kazakhstan discharges into

, where it forms a small

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

. The total length of the

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

ing river is estimated at , of which is China and in Kazakhstan. Emin Town, the county seat of Emin County, is situated in the Emil River valley. Similarly to the much larger and better known

Ili Ili, ILI, Illi may refer to: Abbreviations * Irish Life International, part of Irish Life and Permanent * Intuitive Logical Introvert, a personality type in socionics * Influenza-like illness * Iran Language Institute, a state-owned, non-profit ...

, the Emil receives most of its water from the mountains on the Chinese side of the border and is an essential for the water balance of a major lake in Kazakhstan (the Alakol in case of the Emil, the Balkhash for the Ili). Accordingly, the management of its water within China is also of concern for Kazakhstan, and is a subject of interaction between the authorities of the two countries.Казахстан и Китай решили совместо использовать трансграничные реки. Пока Иртыш не высох...
(Kazakhstan and China have decided to jointly use transborder rivers. While the Irtysh has not dried out...). 2003-02-25

Notes

Rivers of Xinjiang Rivers of Kazakhstan {{Kazakhstan-river-stub