The Kalmakkyrgan, also known as Bileuty ( or ''Білеу''; ), is a river in the

Ulytau District Ulytau District (, ) is a district of Ulytau Region in central Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the village of Ulytau. Population: Geography The Ulytau, a subrange of the Kazakh Uplands, extends across part of Ulytau ...

Ulytau Region Ulytau Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the region is the city of Jezkazgan. The area split off from Karaganda Region in 2022. The region's borders roughly correspond to the western half of the old Jezkazgan R ...

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 ...

. It has a length of and a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of .

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 ...

The river flows across a

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

and

semi-desert A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

area without permanent settlements. In the early summer there are temporary camps of shepherds near the Kalmakkyrgan consisting of one or more

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger (Mongolian language, Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and Thermal insulation, insulated with Hide (skin), skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct Nomad, nomad ...

s. The water of the river is brackish, but suitable for livestock drinking purposes.

Etymology

The name of the river originated in the

Kazakh language Kazakh is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia by Kazakhs. It is closely related to Nogai, Kyrgyz and Karakalpak. It is the official language of Kazakhstan, and has official status in the Altai Republic of Russia ...

word for "the place where the

Kalmyks Kalmyks (), archaically anglicised as Calmucks (), are the only Mongolic ethnic group living in Europe, residing in the easternmost part of the European Plain. This dry steppe area, west of the lower Volga River, known among the nomads as ...

were killed", referring to an event of the

Kazakh–Dzungar Wars The Kazakh–Dzungar Wars were a series of military conflicts between the Kazakh Juzes (three tribal confederations of the Kazakh Khanate) and the Dzungar Khanate that took place between 1643 and 1756. These wars were driven by territorial compe ...

that took place in 1730 by the river banks. Formerly the river was known as Bileuty, a name that is still used to refer to a stretch of its upper course.ПАМЯТЬ О ТУРКО-МОНГОЛЬСКОЙ ЗЕМЛЕ: ПРОИСХОЖДЕНИЕ И СИМВОЛИКА ТОПОНИМОВ
/ref>

Course

The river has its sources near the southern slopes of Karamola mountain, southeastern Ulytau Range. In its first stretch it heads roughly southwards as the Bileuty. Further down its course the river describes a wide bend and flows roughly southwestwards and then westwards to the south of the Baikonyr through a wide valley. In its final stretch it bends again to flow northwestwards and nearly northwards. The river has its mouth in the southern end of the Shubarteniz lake, but its waters mostly get lost in the sands before reaching it.L-41-XII. пикет №11. Кулжамбай - Topographic Chart
/ref> The river is fed by the winter snows and is frozen between November and March. Following the thaw it flows until May, when it breaks up into ponds. In the summer it dries up. The banks of the river are steep for long distances, the heights of the cliffs are usually between to .''Kazakhstan National Encyclopedia'' / Ch. ed. B.O. Jakyp. — Almaty: « Kazakh encyclopedia» ZhSS, 2011. ISBN 9965-893-64-0 (T.Z.), ISBN 9965-893-19-5 Its main tributaries are the Keregetassay, Amanzholsay, Duysembay, Sholaksay, Zhide and Bozingen from the right, as well as the Karsakpai, Talsay, Karatobesay, Ashylysay and Akkiiksay from the left.

References

External links

Сердце Казахстана — Улытау
(in Russian)
Пресс-релиз — Аральское море
(in Russian)
Туристско-научная экспедиция - Казахстанская правда
(in Russian)

(in Russian) {{Rivers of Kazakhstan Rivers of Kazakhstan Ulytau Region Shalkarteniz basin

Etymology

Course

See also

References

External links