Bartogai Lake ( kk, Бартоғай бөгені, ''Bartoğai bögenı'') is a reservoir in the

Almaty Region Almaty Region ( kk, Алматы облысы, Almaty oblysy; russian: Алматинская область, Almatinskaya oblast) is a region in Kazakhstan, located in the southeastern part of the country. Its capital, from 1997 to 2022 was the ...

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 ...

. As it is far away from any pollution sources, it has remained relatively pristine. It was built in the early 1980s on the

Chilik River The Chilik (russian: Чилик, kk, Шілік ''Shilik'', or Шелек ''Shelek'') is a major flowing river in the Almaty Region in the Republic of Kazakhstan, one of the largest left tributaries of the Ili, and the main waterway of southeast ...

at the base of the Sogety Plateau (Syugaty Hills) as part of an irrigation project. The dam was completed in 1983 and the site became operational in 1985. It collects water during the winter and spring and releases water for irrigation from June through September. Recreational fishing in the lake and in the outlet stream is permitted at certain times of year. Animals in the area include

marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, ...

s. On the territory of

, thanks to The Bartogay reservoir, the Shelek (Chilik) river was formed. In the early 1980s, it was blocked by a 60 – meter high stone-embankment dam with a length of 330 m.this is how the bartogay reservoir was formed. The waters of the reservoir feed the Big Almaty canal, which stretches to the city of Almaty, irrigating the foothill agricultural zone on its way. Bartogai is an ancient tract. On all sides, the tract is surrounded by mountains, which is protected from the winds. In the middle of the tract is a vast clearing. Once it was arable land, there are traces of ancient ditches. There are many ancient burial mounds in Bartogai. The stones they are made of are covered with soil and are barely visible from it. The abundance of mounds here is no accident. From time immemorial, attracting people, Bartogai was considered sacred. Rites were performed there, and holidays were celebrated.

References

Lakes of Kazakhstan {{Almaty-geo-stub