__NOTOC__ Khanchali Lake ( ka, ხანჩალი) is a tectonic-volcanic lake in

Ninotsminda Municipality Ninotsminda ( ka, ნინოწმინდის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Ninots’mindis munitsip’alit’et’i'') is a municipality in southern Georgia, in the region of Samtskhe-Javakheti with an area of and a populat ...

Samtskhe–Javakheti Samtskhe–Javakheti ( ka, სამცხე-ჯავახეთი, , ) is a region (mkhare) in southern Georgia with a population of 151.110 (2021) and an area of . The region has Akhaltsikhe as its administrative center, while Besik Amirana ...

region of Georgia. Located in the central part of the Javakheti Plateau, at 1931 m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. The area of its surface is 5 km². The maximum depth of the lake is 1.4 m. The lake is fed by water from snow, rainfall and

underground water Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...

s. Water levels are higher during spring and lower at the end of february. There are 10 rivers that flow into the lake. The Agrichai river flows from the eastern side of the lake and after several kilometres it joins the Paravani river left side. The annual level amplitude is 1 m. Khanchali is the most disturbed one as it experienced heavy anthropogenic changes in the last 50 years. In particular, the shape and water level of Khanchali was altered several times to meet industrial needs during the Soviet Union, Soviet time and after. Between 1968 and 1980, the lake was completely dried up for agricultural purposes. In 1997 the lake was swelled; Currently, it is half of its original size after the Land improvement, amelioration of the north-western part of the lake for agricultural purposes. Khanchali Lake is part of Khanchali Managed Reserve. The villages of Didi Khanchali and Patara Khanchali lie around the lake, and the town Ninotsminda is located nearby.Agency of Protected Areas of Georgia , Khanchali Lake
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References

{{Lakes of Georgia Lakes of Georgia (country) Geography of Samtskhe–Javakheti

See also

References