Shalkar ( kk, Шалқар) is a
brackish lake
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
in
Shalkar District
Shalkar ( kk, Шалқар ауданы, ) is a Districts of Kazakhstan, district of Aktobe Region in Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the town of Shalkar. Population:
Geography
The Shalkar Basin and a number of lakes ...
,
Aktobe Region
The Aktobe Region ( kk, Ақтөбе облысы, Aqtöbe oblysy; russian: Актюбинская область, translit=Aktyubinskaya oblast) is a Regions of Kazakhstan, region of Kazakhstan. The name ''Aktobe'' comes from Kazakh language, Kaz ...
,
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 ...
.
city lies by the northeastern lakeshore. The lake provides water to the city and adjacent railway stations.
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 ...
Geography
Shalkar is located km to the NNW of the
Aral Sea
The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic basin, endorheic lake lyi ...
. It lies in the Shalkar Basin, a wide
tectonic depression between the
Mugalzhar
Mugalzhar ( kk, Мұғалжар), also known as Mugodzhar Hills or Mugodzhar Range (russian: Мугоджары, Мугоджарский хребет),Barsuki Desert
The Barsuki Desert is a desert zone in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhstan. It has two parts, the Greater Barsuki ( kk, Үлкен Борсық; russian: Большие Барсуки) in the west and the Lesser Barsuki ( kk, Кіші ...
to the east. The
Kauylzhyr
The Kauylzhyr ( kk, Қауылжыр; russian: Каульжур) is a river in Shalkar District, Aktobe Region, Kazakhstan. It is long and has a catchment area of .
The river is part of the Shalkar Basin. It is fed mainly by snow. Its waters are ...
river flows from the north into the northern end. The lake presently consists in a roughly oval string of residual pools with an expanse of dry terrain at the center. The pools forming the lake freeze on average by early November and thaw in late March to early April. The ice thickness in the middle of the winter reaches between and .
History
Shalkar is a drying lake. It had been larger and deeper until the 20th century. In 1937 a stone and concrete dam was built in order to decrease the salinity of the northern part of the lake. This dam divided lake Shalkar into two sections, with the southern pools increasing in salinity as the fresh water from the Kauylzhyr rarely reached them. The southern section is known as "Old Shalkar" and it often dries up in the summer.
[Zhusandala - ''Kazakhstan National Encyclopedia.'' - Almaty: Kazakh encyclopedias, 2006. - T. V. -ISBN 9965-9908-5-9]
The lakeshore retreated as it became covered in
reeds and a thick layer of silt accumulated at the bottom. At the beginning of the 20th century the volume of the lake had been but nowadays it is hardly . Meanwhile the maximum depth of the lake decreased from to .
[Impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities on water and biological resources of Lake Shalkar, western Kazakhstan](_blank)
/ref>
Flora and fauna
Shalkar is located on the path of seasonal migrations of water birds. There are reed
Reed or Reeds may refer to:
Science, technology, biology, and medicine
* Reed bird (disambiguation)
* Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times
* Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales
* Re ...
s growing on the Shalkar lakeshore and in the area of the Kauylzhyr river mouth. These provide a habitat for birds such as the egret
Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...
, spoonbill
Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...
, glossy ibis
The glossy ibis (''Plegadis falcinellus'') is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek ''plegados'' and Latin, ''falcis'', both meaning "sickle" a ...
, whooper swan
The whooper swan ( /ˈhuːpə(ɹ) swɒn/) (''Cygnus cygnus''), also known as the common swan, pronounced ''hooper swan'', is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan, and the type specie ...
, demoiselle crane
The demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') is a species of crane found in central Eurosiberia, ranging from the Black Sea to Mongolia and North Eastern China. There is also a small breeding population in Turkey. These cranes are migratory birds. Bir ...
, little bustard
The little bustard (''Tetrax tetrax'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Tetrax''. The genus name is from Ancient Greek and refers to a gamebird mentioned by Aristophanes and others. Distribution
It breeds in Southe ...
and the Pallas's gull
Pallas's gull (''Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus''), also known as the great black-headed gull, is a large bird species. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus ''Larus''. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. '' ...
.
Among the fifteen fish species found in the lake, the Caspian tyulka and Caspian roach
The Caspian roach (''Rutilus caspicus'') is a species of roach fish living in the Caspian Sea. The Caspian roach can be distinguished from other roaches by its laterally compressed body, silvery grey iris, rounded snout and grey pectoral pelvic ...
deserve mention. The fish fauna has greatly diminished in recent decades.
See also
*List of drying lakes
A number of natural lakes throughout the world are drying or completely dry due to irrigation or urban use diverting inflow.
See also
* Lists of lakes
References
{{Subject bar, Lakes, commons=Reservoirs with low levels of water, commonsca ...
*List of lakes of Kazakhstan
Excluding the northernmost districts, Kazakhstan consists of endorheic basins, where rivers flow into one of the numerous lakes. The most important drainage system is known as Yedisu, meaning "seven rivers" in Turkic languages. Below is the list ...
References
External links
*
Drying Lakes: A Review On The Health Conditions and Restoration Strategies
Lakes of Kazakhstan
Aktobe Region
{{Kazakhstan-geo-stub