The Chilik (russian: Чилик, kk, Шілік ''Shilik'', or Шелек ''Shelek'') is a major flowing river in the
Almaty Region
Almaty Region ( kk, Алматы облысы, Almaty oblysy; russian: Алматинская область, Almatinskaya oblast) is a region in Kazakhstan, located in the southeastern part of the country. Its capital, from 1997 to 2022 was the ...
in the
Republic 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, Uzbekis ...
, one of the largest left tributaries of the
Ili, and the main waterway of southeastern Kazakhstan. The
Bartogay reservoir has been created on the river, from where the Great Almaty canal begins.
Location
In the valley of the river is the village of
Shelek with the same name, the former
Administrative centre
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...
of the Chilik district of Almaty region (now merged with the
Enbekshikazakh District
Enbekshikazakh District ( kk, Еңбекшіқазақ ауданы, ) is a district of Almaty Region in Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the town of Esik. Population:
Geography
The south, and east parts of district ...
). Also in the valley of the river are the villages of Malybai, Bijanova, Bayseit, Sarybulak,
Milyanfan
Milyanfan ( ky, Милянфан; russian: Милянфан, from dng, Милёнчуан; Hanzi: ) is a village in the Ysyk-Ata District of the Chüy Region of Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 5,271 in 2021. It is located near the southern bank o ...
and Masak.
Current
The Chilik, in its upper course Jangyryk, is long, and has a drainage basin of It originates on the Jangyryk glacier, on the southern slope of
Trans-Ili Alatau
Ile Alatau ( kk, Ile Alatauy, ''Іле Алатауы''), also spelt as Trans-Ili Alatau, is a part of the Northern Tian Shan mountain system (ancient Mount Imeon) in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It is the northernmost mountain range of Tian Sh ...
. It then goes to the Ili valley, where it is divided into the Kur-Chilik and Ulhun-Chilik branches. It flows into the
Kapchagay Reservoir
Kapchagay Reservoir, also spelled Qapshaghay Bogeni Reservoir and sometimes referred to as Lake Kapchagay, is a major reservoir in Almaty Region in southeastern Kazakhstan, approximately 80 kilometres north of Almaty. The 140 kilometre long lake i ...
. Tributaries to Zhenishke. The average annual water discharge is 63 km from the mouth 32.2 m
3 per sec. The water of the river is mainly used for the purpose of irrigation. Recently, the river has become increasingly popular as an object of tourism for extreme water sports (also includes the
Sharyn River,
Kazan River
The Kazan River (Inuktitut ''Harvaqtuuq'', Inuktitut syllabics ᓴᕐᕙᖅᑑᖅ; meaning "strong rapids", "the big drift" or "place of much fast flowing water"), is a Canadian Heritage River located in Nunavut, Canada. The Dene name for the riv ...
and
Koksu River).
References
{{reflist
Rivers of Kazakhstan