Birdwatching on lake Sasykkol.

“Nature magically suits a man to his fortunes by making them the fruit of his character”

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Destination Kazakhstan.

Lake Sasykkol (in translation with Kazakh «Rotten lake»). Is in northwest part Alakol of a hollow, in 36 km to the north of city Ushral. Has the extended form from the West on the east.
Modern length of lake of 50 km, width of 15 kilometers, average depth of 3.3 m (the maximal depth - 4.7), length of a coastal line of 182 km, a total area of 736 km.
Volume of water weight - 2434 million in m (Filones, 1965).
A relief of a bottom equal, with an insignificant bias, subgrades at the bottom - grey and sandy silt, sand. Coast low, boggy, it is dense marsh, typha and woodreed (Calamagrostis). The lake is adjoined from above with 45 thousand in hectares of bogs.
Only in western and northern part, between settlement Zharsuat and Sagat, places are available coastal breakages. In the east far in lake the peninsula Araltobe with a stony hill presses (470 meters above sea level), northern which rocky party has height of 117 m and abruptly breaks in lake.
This peninsula forms two significant gulfs - Borgan and Zhartas. Borgan the gulf adjoining to reserve, has length of 7 km and width of 4 km. On an isthmus between Borgan and Koshkarkol there is a natural boundary Garlics, and between Koshkarkol and gulf Zhartas almost impassable water marsh appendages of a property "Thousand" on which pink pelicans long since nest and are the richest musk beave.
In a northwest part of lake, in 2.5 km from settlement Sagat, there is an island Kishkine-Araltob2e (397 meters above sea level) which length makes 5 km, width - 2.8 km, height - 46.8 m, the area - 11.2 km.
Southwest and its western party ennobled, stony, northern and east - boggy, with reed thrickets (Filones, 1965). Unlike Alakol Sasykkol has rather stable water level. Mid-annual amplitude of fluctuation of a water level of 60 sm (Filones, 1965).
The greatest monthly average level is observed in May, less often in June-July, the least - in November-December, being in dependence from capacity and duration of a high water on river Tentek.

Authorship:
Berezovikov Nikolay Nikolaevich, Cand.Biol.Sci.

Photos
Alexander Petrov.