Tengiz [6] [7] [1] [3] ( Kazakh. Teneiz - “sea, a large lake” [8] ; Teniz [2] [9] , Dengiz [3] , Nurinsk [9] ) - bitter-salty a closed lake in the west of the Tengiz-Kurgaldzhin depression in the northern part of the Kazakh small hills (Sary-Arka) [3] [10] [8] , the largest of the Tengiz-Kurgaldzhin lakes . It is located in Kazakhstan at the border of Akmola region with Karaganda region , in the territory of Korgalzhyn district [7] [2] . It is part of the Korgalzhyn nature reserve [11] , which since 2008 has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “ Saryarka - Steppes and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan ” [12] . In 1976, the Tengiz-Kurgaldzhin system of lakes was included in the list of wetlands of international importance covered by the Ramsar Convention [13] .
| Lake | |
| Tengiz | |
|---|---|
| kaz. Theңіz kөlі | |
 Satellite image of Tengiz lake 2008 | |
| Morphometry | |
| Absolute height | 305 [1] m |
| Dimensions | 74.4 [2] × 40.2 [2] km |
| Square | 1590 [3] km² 1382.6 [4] km² |
| Coastline | 470 [5] km |
| Deepest | 7.75 [2] m |
| Average depth | 2.5 [4] m |
| Hydrology | |
| Type of mineralization | bitter salty [3] |
| Salinity | <18.2 ‰ [3] |
| Transparency | 0.5–4.0 m |
| Pool | |
| Flowing rivers | Nura , Kulanotpes |
| Location | |
| A country |
|
| Region | Akmola region |
| Area | Korgalzhyn district |
Located in the tectonic basin [3] . Area - 1590 km²; length - 74.4 km, width - 40.2 km, depth - up to 7.75 m [2] . The rivers Nura , Kulanotpes [10] (Kulanutpes [3] ) flow into Lake Tengiz. In some years, a significant part of Tengiz dries up. Water contains mirabilite [3] .
Lake Tengiz is quite large, it is three times larger than Lake Constance . There are many islands in the lake itself.
The shores from the northern, northwestern, western parts are gentle, the southern and southwestern - with the applied sand shaft up to 1.5 - 2.0 m in height.
Water is supplied by the Nura, Kulanotpes, and Jesepay rivers (spring melt water). The bottom is flat. On the south and south-west sides it is solid (sandstone layers), on the north and north-west sides muddy.
It freezes in the first decade of December, opens in March (with the first thaws, depending on the temperature regime).
Lake Ecosystem
A chain of fresh spills with individual reaches in the Kulanotpes and Nura deltas that later flow into Lake Tengiz formed the Tengiz- Kurgaldzhin system of lakes. Since 1968, Tengiz Lake has been part of the conservation zone and since 2008 it has been located in the center of the territory of the Republican state institution “ Korgaldzhyn State Nature Reserve ”. Mineralization of Lake Tengiz ranges from 50 to 200 gr. salt per liter of water. There are no fish, although on the coast one can often find waves thrown out by the waves, dried up large carcasses of fish (carp, crucian carp) brought from the river delta. More than 20 isolated islands were noted on Lake Tengiz (depending on the hydrological regime), some of which are a convenient place for nesting colonies of pink flamingos (this is the northernmost location of the nesting colony of pink flamingos in the world). In the period 2006-2011, about 45 thousand individuals of this species were recorded. By 2015, the number decreased markedly (no more than 15 thousand). The Nura River Delta, which flows into the lake, also accumulates a large number of waterfowl (geese, ducks listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan - curly pelican , small and large white, gray heron, waders , terns ). Reed beds in the Nura River Delta created favorable conditions for numerous waterfowl not only for nesting, but also during molting and during the spring-autumn migration.
In the region, more than 350 species of terrestrial and more than 180 species of aquatic vascular plants are noted. Of the 350 species of birds noted here , more than 120 species comprise the group of wetlands. Their total number during molting, nesting, and spring-autumn migration exceeds 5 million individuals. 45 species of mammals were also noted. Among them, a rare species with a sharply reduced abundance is the saiga .
On the western, south-western and southern sides of the lake is the Kazakh small hills where steppe eagles arrange their nests.
Interesting Facts
In 1976, the Soyuz-23 expedition descent vehicle was brought down onto Lake Tengiz for the first time in the history of Soviet manned space exploration . Landing on the lake took place late at night in a snowstorm 2 km from the coast at a temperature of −20 ° C. The exit hatch was in the water, the astronauts were in the descent vehicle for about 12 hours. They managed to save the astronauts only by towing the descent capsule ashore with the help of a helicopter [14] [15] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Map sheet M-42-XV . Scale: 1: 200 000. Indicate the date of issue / condition of the area .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Teniz // Kazakhstan. National Encyclopedia . - Almaty: Kazakh encyclopedias , 2006. - T. V. - ISBN 9965-9908-5-9 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tengiz // Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 30 vol.] / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
- ↑ 1 2 Tengiz. Lake Profile worldlakes.org. - World Lakes Website. Date of treatment June 7, 2016.
- ↑ Tengiz (English) (unavailable link) . wldb.ilec.or.jp. - World Lake Database - ILEC. Date of treatment June 7, 2016. Archived July 1, 2016.
- ↑ Ageenko F.L. Tengiz // Dictionary of proper names of the Russian language. Stress Pronunciation. Inflection . - M .: World and Education; Onyx, 2010 .-- 880 p. - ISBN 5-94666-588-X , 978-5-94666-588-9.
- ↑ 1 2 Tengiz // Dictionary of names of hydrographic objects of Russia and other countries - members of the CIS / ed. G.I. Donidze. - M .: Kartgeotsentr - Geodezizdat, 1999. - S. 370. - ISBN 5-86066-017-0 .
- ↑ 1 2 Pospelov E. M. Geographical Names of the World: Toponymic Dictionary: Ok. 5000 units / holes ed. R. A. Ageeva. - M .: Russian dictionaries, 1998 .-- S. 414. - 503 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-89216-029-7 .
- ↑ 1 2 A.V. Shnitnikov, N.P. Smirnova. Lakes of the Middle Region. - Institute of Lake Science (USSR Academy of Sciences). - Leningrad: Science, 1976.- 359 p.
- ↑ 1 2 Map sheet M-42 . Scale: 1: 1,000,000 .
- ↑ Korgalzhyn reserve // Kazakhstan. National Encyclopedia . - Almaty: Kazakh encyclopedias , 2005. - T. III. - ISBN 9965-9746-4-0 .
- ↑ UNESCO. Saryarka - Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan (English) . Archived March 18, 2012.
- ↑ Kourgaldzhin and Tengiz Lakes . - Information on wetlands on the official website of the Ramsar Convention : ramsar.org (English) (Spanish) (French) . Date of treatment January 24, 2018.
- ↑ About the rescue operation on the lake (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment January 1, 2013. Archived October 10, 2007.
- ↑ Drama on Lake Tengiz (Inaccessible link) . Date of treatment January 1, 2013. Archived on October 13, 2008.