Guide to Khazar Reserve.

“Mountain peaks: fogs here and there;
The sea wind howls among the heights of Gurgen;
When the rain rushes by, they roar madly
Streams of muddy foamy waters of Gurgen."

"Gurgen". Translation by A. Tarkovsky. Makhtumkuli.

Sights of Esenguly site.

Climate of Khazar Reserve.
According to climatic zoning, the territory of the reserve belongs to the South Turan subtropical regions. Despite the proximity of the sea, the region's climate is generally continental, with relatively sharp fluctuations in daily and seasonal temperatures, mild winters, low rainfall and high solar radiation (more than 150 kcal/cm per year).
According to the Turkmenbashi meteorological station, the average annual air temperature in the reserve is about 15.8°C. The average temperature of the warmest month (July) is about 28°, the coldest - from 2 to 4°, the absolute minimum is 17°, the maximum is 47°.
The amount of precipitation in the Khazar section of the reserve is only about 120 mm per year, to the south rises noticeably, reaching 150 - 200 mm in the Esenguly region. Precipitation in the form of snow is rare, although there are winters when snow lasts for several days.
Shallow waters in the Turkmenbashi Bay freeze almost every year. The ice does not last long (usually 2 weeks in January), but there are winters when the ice cover of considerable thickness covers almost the entire bay, preventing navigation.
There are no long frosts, snow cover and freeze-up on the "southern bird wintering grounds". The temperature does not fall below -12 degrees C. The frost-free period in the reserve lasts about 275 days, and the period with air temperature above 10 ° - more than 250 days.
The prevailing wind direction in winter is east. The average wind speed is 6 - 9 m/s. However, in summer there are also strong winds with a speed of up to 20 - 25 m/s, accompanied by dust storms. The duration and main hydrothermal characteristics of the seasons in the Khazar and Esenguly areas differ significantly: in the first, winter lasts 45 - 50 days and is characterized by mild frosts (up to -10 °), ice formation in the bays (up to 2 weeks), in Esenguly - about a month at an average monthly temperature not lower than 2°.
Summer is long (May - September), hot, with little or no precipitation. The air temperature often exceeds 40°. In October - November, due to the invasion of cold masses from the north, unstable weather is observed with sharp fluctuations in temperature, precipitation and wind speed.
Extreme meteorological phenomena are also observed on the territory of the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea: high stable air temperatures, droughts and dry winds, dust storms, fogs. 
Soils of Khazar Reserve.
e soil cover of protected areas is composed of gray soils and gray-brown soils. In 1977 - 1979, due to a drop of almost 1 meter in sea level, Mikhailovsky Bay dried up, which reduced the area of ​​​​the reserve's water area by almost 8,000 hectares.
t present, the water level in the bays is rising, approaching the mark of 28 meters, i.e., the level of the 1940s and 1950s. It should be noted that the "first" rise, which began in 1980, was interrupted by 1996, most likely due to the opening of the flow into the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay (up to 50 cubic kilometers per year).
After the stabilization of the Kara-Bogaz-Gol level, prerequisites were created for the resumption of sea level rise (since 2005). The basis of the hydrological network in Esenguly is the Etrek River with floodplain reservoirs. The river originates in Iran and brings its waters to the Caspian Sea only during the flood period.
With the rise in the level of the Caspian Sea, a change in the coastline is inevitable in both parts of the reserve, most significantly in the Turkmenbashi Bay, where the underground runoff system occurs along the ancient Uzboy-Aktam channel. Currently, fresh lenses are used for livestock watering, horticulture and melon growing.
Geographical coordinates of Khazar Reserve: N37°39'57.59" E53°52'40.54"

Authority:
"Reserves of Central Asia and Kazakhstan". Under the general editorship of R.V. Yashchenko. Tethys edition. Editorial Board of the Scientific Society "Tethys": R.Ya. Yashchenko chairman), O.V. Belyalov, V.P. Krivenko, O.E. Lopatin, I.V. Mitrofanov, K.M. Pachikin. Marmazinskaya N. July 25, 2006. Berkeliev T. http://iucnca.net

Photos by
Alexander Petrov.