Atansor () is a
salt lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...
in
Birzhan sal District
Birzhan sal District () is a district of Akmola Region in northern Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. I ...
,
Akmola Region
Akmola Region (, ; ) is a centrally located regions of Kazakhstan, region of Kazakhstan. It was known as Tselinograd Oblast during Soviet Union, Soviet rule. Its capital is Kökşetau. The national capital, Astana, is enclosed by the region, but ...
,
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
.
Enbekshilder
Enbekshilder (; ) is a settlement in Birzhan sal District, Akmola Region, Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of Enbekshilder Rural District (KATO code — 114537100). Located in the middle, formerly the district was named Enbekshilder D ...
is located close to the northern lakeshore and now abolished Atansor village close to the southwestern one. The name "Atansor" was probably given because of a camel drowning in the lake in the past.
Geography
Atansor is an
endorheic lake
An endorheic lake (also called a sink lake or terminal lake) is a collection of water within an endorheic basin, or sink, with no evident outlet. Endorheic lakes are generally Saline water, saline as a result of being unable to get rid of solutes ...
of the northern end of the
Kazakh Uplands
The Kazakh Uplands or the Kazakh Hummocks, known in Kazakh as the ( , ; ), is a large peneplain formation extending throughout the central and eastern regions of Kazakhstan. . It lies in a basin among low hills at an elevation of . It has an irregular shape, with wide bays in the north and in the south of the eastern part. The Atan river flows into the lake from the northwest.
Atansor is usually replenished in the spring with melted snow from the surrounding steppe. The water is salty and the lake mostly dries up in summer, turning into a
sor
Sor or SOR may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* School of Rock, 2003 film starring Jack Black
* Shades of Rhythm, a British based rave music group
* Son of Rambow, 2008 film starring Bill Milner and Will Poulter
* Sor, Serdar Ortaç ...
. The shores of the lake are flat and smooth, except for a few rocky and steep stretches. The lake bottom is rough and filled with sediments.
Among the lakes in its vicinity,
Zhambaysor lies to the east,
Mamay
Mamai (Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, Mongolian Cyrillic: Мамай, ; 1325?–1380/1381) was a powerful Turco-Mongol tradition, Turko-Mongol military commander in Beylerbey rank of the Golden Horde from Kiyat clan. Contrary to popular misconcep ...
to the southwest,
Kotyrkol to the west,
Zhokey to the WNW and
Koksengirsor to the NNE.
Google Earth
Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...
[''ATAMEKEN: Geographical Encyclopedia.'' / General ed. B. O. Jacob. - ]Almaty
Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...
: "Kazakh Encyclopedia", 2011. - 648 pages. ISBN 9965-893-70-5
Flora and fauna
About 30% of the land surface surrounding the lake consists in plowed agricultural fields. The remaining is used for livestock grazing and is covered with
steppe vegetation, where
sagebrush
Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus ''Artemisia (plant), Artemisia''. The best-known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrush is native to the western half of North Amer ...
,
needlegrass, and
fescue
''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every ...
predominate. Local tradition says that in the past the lake water was used for drinking and that fish lived in its waters.
See also
*
List of lakes of Kazakhstan
Excluding the northernmost districts, Kazakhstan consists of endorheic basins, where rivers flow into one of the numerous lakes. The most important drainage system is known as Yedisu, meaning "seven rivers" in Turkic languages. Below is a list o ...
*
Sor (geomorphology)
A sor (; ) is a closed drainless depression characteristic of the Central Asian deserts, found especially in Kazakhstan. The sor area is seasonally flooded, forming a lake, which becomes an inland salt marsh and then a Salt pan (geology), salt fl ...
References
External links
*
{{Lakes of Kazakhstan
Lakes of Akmola Region
Endorheic basins of Asia
Kazakh Uplands
Birzhan sal District