Lake Kopa ( kk, Қопа, ; ) is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the city of

Kokshetau Kokshetau (meaning ''Blueish Mountain'' in Kazakh, kz, Көкшетау, Kökşetau; ; rus, Кокшета́у, p=kokʂɛtaʊ) is a city in northern Kazakhstan and the capital of Akmola Region, which stretches along the southern shore of Lak ...

, located on the territory of

Akmola Region Akmola Region ( kz, Ақмола облысы, translit=Aqmola oblysy; russian: Акмолинская область, Akmolinskaya oblast) is a centrally located region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Kokshetau. The national capital, Astana, is en ...

close to the foot of Kokshetau Elevation in the northern part of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. Its elevation is above sea level and has a maximum depth of about 6 m. It is 5.6 km long and 12 km wide. The total surface area of it the lake is about depending on water level. It is fed by 2 rivers and is drained by the Shagalaly. The area of Lake Kopa fluctuates year to year, but in recent years the size of the lake has been decreasing overall. Kopa is used for fishery.

Location and description

Lake Kopa is located in the north of Kazakhstan. Lake Kopa is long, up to wide and its area is . Located near the foot of the Kokshetau Massif, and near the north-western part of the city of

, the lake has an area of and an average depth of . Most of the total catchment area of , is accounted for by the tributaries of the lake: the Shagalaly river to the southwest, and the

Kylshakty The Kylshakty ( kk, Қылшақты, ''Qylşaqty'') is a river in Northern Kazakhstan that flows through the Akmola Region in Central Kazakhstan. It is long and has a drainage basin spanning . Geography The river starts in the Kokshetau Ma ...

river to southeast. Only a very small part, , comes from the lake itself. The south and west sides of the lake are separated from the adjacent beaches by depressed areas, and along the southern and eastern coasts are sand and pebble beaches. The northern and eastern shores of the lake are low, flat, and overgrown with vegetation, meaning that the water surface of the lake is basically open only along the western and northern stretches. The lake bottom is viscous, smooth, and covered with a layer of silt clay, loam, and sand, it averages , but can reach a depth of as much as in the northern part. 50-70 m-high hills (

Bukpa Hill Bukpa ( kk, Buqpa; ) is a hill that rises in the north-western area of Kokshetau, the capital of Akmola Region in the northern part of Kazakhstan. It is open to the public and provides excellent panoramic views of the city and beyond, including ...

) come close to the lake from south-west. In 1955, the volume of water in the lake was , with a surface area of . From 1955 to 1990 the volume of the lake has decreased by and now stands at only . The lake sees

amplitude The amplitude of a periodic variable is a measure of its change in a single period (such as time or spatial period). The amplitude of a non-periodic signal is its magnitude compared with a reference value. There are various definitions of am ...

fluctuations of between . Shagalaly flows into the lake from south-west and flows out from the north part, therefore, Lake Kopa regulates flow of Shagalaly river in its lower stream. Administratively, the lake and the adjacent land are within

of Kazakhstan.

References

External links

* {{Lakes of Kazakhstan Kopa Geography of Akmola Region

Location and description

See also

References

External links