The Emin Valley () is located on the

China–Kazakhstan border The China–Kazakhstan border or the Sino-Kazakhstan border ( kz, Қазақстан-Қытай мемлекеттiк шекарасы, russian: Казахстанско-китайская государственная граница, zh, s=� ...

, in Central Asia. It has an area of about . Its main waterway is the

Emil River 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 and the ...

. Administratively, the Emin Valley occupies areas of

Tacheng Prefecture Tacheng Prefecture is located in Northern Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. It has an area of and a population of 935,600 (2017). It is a part of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. The prefecture level city of Karamay forms a separate enclave ...

in the Xinjiang Region of north-western China; and in

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 eastern Kazakhstan.

Ecology

The Emin Valley has a steppe ecosystem of mostly

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natu ...

s; with two

saline lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

s, Alakol and Sasykkol; and mountains with temperate climates. The Emin Valley Steppe is a Palearctic ecoregion in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

Biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

. It lies within the vast and larger Eurasian Steppe. Ecoregion PA0806

Hydrology

Orographically Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discipl ...

, the Emil Valley is an

endorrheic basin An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...

. In the north, 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, ...

separate it from the Lake Zaysan basin, which is part of the basin of the Irtysh River, eventually draining into the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

. In the southeast, another series of mountain ranges separate it from the

Dzungaria Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang". Bounded by the Al ...

n Basin (

Gurbantünggüt Desert The Gurbantünggüt Desert ( kk, Құрбантұңғыт шөлі; ug, قۇربانتۈڭغۈت قۇملۇقى, Qurbantüngghüt Qumluqi; zh, s=古尔班通古特沙漠 , t=古爾班通古特沙漠, p=Gǔ'ěrbāntōnggǔtè Shāmò) occupies a l ...

). The Emin Valley's main watercourse is the Emin (Emil) River, which flows in the general western direction, receiving numerous streams flowing from the Tarbagatai Mountains and carrying their water to Lake Alakol.

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 extensi ...

and

Lake Sasykkol Sasykkol ( kz, Сасықкөл, ''Sasyqköl'') is a lake in eastern Kazakhstan. It is located near . It has an area of 600 km2 (736 km2 when water level is high), average depth of 3.3 m, and maximum depth of 4.7 m. Fishery on the lake i ...

, situated in the western (Kazakhstan) part of the valley, are the homes of the rare

Dalmatian pelican The Dalmatian pelican (''Pelecanus crispus'') is the largest member of the pelican family, and perhaps the world's largest freshwater bird, although rivaled in weight and length by the largest swans. They are elegant soaring birds, with wingspa ...

and

relict gull The relict gull or Central Asian gull (''Ichthyaetus relictus'') is a medium-sized gull. It was believed to be an eastern race of the Mediterranean gull until 1971 and was traditionally placed in the genus ''Larus''. Description The gull is 44 ...

External links

* * China–Kazakhstan border Valleys of Xinjiang Valleys of Kazakhstan Eurasian Steppe Ecoregions of China Ecoregions of Kazakhstan Ecoregions of Asia Grasslands of China Grasslands of Kazakhstan Palearctic ecoregions Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands {{Kazakhstan-geo-stub

Ecology

Hydrology

See also

External links