The Ulkayak ( kk, Өлкейек; russian: улькаяк) is a river in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

. It has a length of and a catchment area of .''Kazakhstan National Encyclopedia'' / Ch. ed. B.O. Jakyp. — Almaty: « Kazakh encyclopedia» ZhSS, 2011. ISBN 9965-893-64-0(T.Z.),ISBN 9965-893-19-5 It is one of the rivers of the southern part of the

Turgay Depression The Turgay Depression, also known as Turgay Basin, Turgay Trough, and Turgay Hollow ( kk, Торғай қолатый; rus, Тургайская ложбина), is a structural basin in Kazakhstan.

, belonging to the Irgyz -Turgay

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas o ...

.Irgyz - Turgai — Freshwater Ecoregions of the World
/ref> It flows across the Zhangeldi District of the

Kostanay Region Kostanay Region ( kk, Қостанай облысы, translit=Qostanai oblysy; russian: Костанайская область, translit=Kostanayskaya oblast) is a region of Kazakhstan. Its administrative center is the city of Kostanay. The pop ...

, Kazakhstan. Google Earth There are historical

Kazakh Kazakh, Qazaq or Kazakhstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kazakhstan *Kazakhs, an ethnic group *Kazakh language *The Kazakh Khanate * Kazakh cuisine * Qazakh Rayon, Azerbaijan *Qazax, Azerbaijan *Kazakh Uyezd, administrative dis ...

sites in the valley of the Ulkayak.Excursion bus tours in Kazakhstan - silkadv.com
/ref>Экспедиция на Улькаяк © e-history.kz
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Course

The Ulkayak is formed at the confluence of rivers Zhantai (Жантай) and Tolybai (Толыбай). The river flows first southwestwards across

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslan ...

territory within a flat valley. It cuts across some gorges along its course, the longest of which is . Towards its last stretch its valley widens and the river

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 ban ...

s heading roughly southwards. Finally it flows into the Kyzylkol, a

salt 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). ...

which is connected with the

Turgay Turgay is a Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkis ...

through a system of lakes linked by channels. The water of the river is fresh, but it turns brackish in the summer, when the river dries in stretches and its flow almost stops.

Tributaries

The long Kabyrga and the long Karabutak are the main tributaries of the Ulkayak. The river freezes yearly between early November and late March. Its main food is snow.

References

External links

Экспедиция на Улькаяк - YouTubeFishing in the Ulkayak river
{{Rivers of Kazakhstan Rivers of Kazakhstan Kostanay Region Shalkarteniz basin

Course

Tributaries

See also

References

External links