Lakes of the Western Kazakhstan.

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls” 

Anaïs Nin. “The Diary of Anaïs”.

Trip to Shalkar lake on West-Kazakhstan region.

Shalkar (Chelkar Kaz. Shalkar) is a brackish lake located in the Terektinsky district of the West Kazakhstan region, 75 kilometers southeast of the city of Uralsk. The lake is located at an altitude of 17 meters above sea level or 43 meters above the level of the Caspian Sea.
The area of ​​the lake is 205.8 kilometers square with an average depth of 5 meters, the maximum depth of the lake reaches 13 meters, width - 15.6 km, length - 19.3 km. The lake is surrounded from the north by salt marshes. Snow and underground food.
Fluctuations of the lake are observed in May, can reach 1.8 - 2.0 meters. The lake freezes late - in November; it also opens late - in May. Due to the lack of water, the lake’s water is unsuitable for drinking: in spring, when there is runoff to the Urals, it is brackish, by the end of summer it becomes bitter-salty.
The shallow rivers Sholakankaty (Sholak Ankaty) and Esenankaty (Esen Ankaty) flow into the lake, followed by the drying river Solyanka, which belongs to the Ural basin. This is one of the largest lakes not only in Kazakhstan, but throughout Southeast Eurasia.
The unique Shalkar lake is a favorite vacation spot for residents of Western Kazakhstan. According to experts, clear lake water is healing, because it is saturated with many mineral elements. It is believed that Shalkar is the remnant of the formerly Khvalynsky Sea, which retreated thousands of years ago to the modern borders of the Caspian.
Trees do not grow on the shores of the lake.

Authority:
The advertizing leaflet of a regional department of tourism and sports of the Ural area.