Lakes of Kazakhstan - water wealth of the country

The first associations that arise for an unenlightened person at the mention of this country are steppes, sand, sun, sheep and, perhaps, mountains ... However, the lakes of Kazakhstan are what, in principle, should first of all be associated with this republic. After all, there are as many as 48,222 of them! Is it impressive?

But that's not all. Twenty-one of them have an area of more than one hundred square kilometers. The Caspian and Aral Seas are the lakes of Kazakhstan, which wash the republic. On its territory there is also one of the largest in the world on the area of lakes - Balkhash. It is located in the southeast of Kazakhstan and after the Caspian Sea is considered the second largest salt- free salt lake. However, its peculiarity is that it is not quite salty. A narrow strait divides this reservoir into two parts. One of them consists of salt water, the second - from fresh water. In the list of the largest lakes in the world, Balkhash takes the thirteenth place.

Lakes of Kazakhstan are located on the territory of the republic somewhat unevenly. So, in the north, they are the most - 45%, in the south and in the center - 36%, in other regions - only 19%. The largest of them is the Aral Sea, which is located on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Until 1960, this pond was considered the fourth largest in the world. Since that time, the lake has become somewhat shallower, and in 1989 it disintegrated into two separate reservoirs - the Northern and Southern Aral Sea. The first is much smaller than the second, because it is called Small, and the South by the Great Aral Sea.

The world's largest drainless lake, called the Caspian Sea, for more than two thousand kilometers is washed north, north-east and east of Kazakhstan. But the lakes located inside the republic are also striking in their size. For example, Lake Alakol, located in the southeast of the republic, has an area of about 2.2 thousand square kilometers. The water in it is salty, its composition is sodium chloride.

The swimming season on Alakol lasts more than three months, the water is considered curative, which stimulated the development of tourist infrastructure in these places. Today resorts on the coastal line of this lake are very popular not only among the Kazakhs, but also among foreigners.

All lakes of Kazakhstan are conventionally divided into steppe and mountain lakes. The first can boast of unique migratory birds, of which there are hundreds of species. The latter are the so-called blue lakes of Kazakhstan, the map of which is combined with the mountain ranges of the republic. They got their name because of the incredibly bright and saturated colors of the watery surface. Today, mountain lakes in Kazakhstan, photos of which amaze the imagination of the most sophisticated tourists, attract the attention of thousands of travelers. The incredibly beautiful wild nature, the living flora and fauna and hospitable inhabitants provide the guests with an unforgettable impression of relaxation.

To date, the republic's authorities are increasingly beginning to pay attention to the development of tourism infrastructure in Kazakhstan, using the wealth and attractiveness of its lakes. And this means that soon most of the people unfamiliar with this country will remember associations about it, first of all with the clear blue water of its boundless reservoirs.