The Kulunda Steppe or Kulunda Plain (, , ''Qūlyndy dalasy'') is an

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a plain (an essentially flat landform) created by the deposition of sediment over a long period by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A ''floodplain'' is part of the process, bei ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

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 is an important agricultural region in

Western Siberia Western Siberia or West Siberia ( rus, Западная Сибирь, p=ˈzapədnəjə sʲɪˈbʲirʲ; , ) is a region in North Asia. It is part of the wider region of Siberia that is mostly located in the Russia, Russian Federation, with a Sout ...

Geography

The steppe is located between the Ob and

Irtysh The Irtysh is a river in Russia, China, and Kazakhstan. It is the chief tributary of the Ob (river), Ob and is also the longest tributary in the world. The river's source lies in the Altai Mountains, Mongolian Altai in Dzungaria (the northern p ...

rivers in the southern part of the

West Siberian Plain The West Siberian Plain () is a large plain that occupies the western portion of Siberia, between the Ural Mountains in the west and the Yenisei, Yenisei River in the east, and the Altai Mountains on the southeast. Much of the plain is poorly d ...

, to the west of the

Ob Plateau The Ob Plateau (, ''Priobskoye Plato''), is one of the great plateaus of Siberia. Administratively it falls within Altai Krai and Novosibirsk Oblast, Siberian Federal District, Russia. The plateau is named after the Ob River and is part of its ba ...

. Steppe landscapes predominate, especially in the north and east of the plain, which extends across the

Altai Krai Altai Krai (, ) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai). It borders, clockwise from the west, Kazakhstan ( East Kazakhstan Region, Abai Region and Pavlodar Region), Novosibirsk and Kemerovo, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative ce ...

of Russia and the Pavlodar Oblast of

, with a small northern section in the

Novosibirsk Oblast Novosibirsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative center, administrative and economic center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of N ...

, as well as small southern part in the East Kazakhstan Oblast. The

Baraba Steppe The Baraba steppe or Baraba Lowland (), is a plain in western Siberia. It is named after Baraba Tatars, its indigenous inhabitants. The Baraba Lowland is an important Russian agricultural region. Geography It stretches for across the Omsk a ...

lies to the northwest. The border between both plains is not well defined. Conventionally, it is carried out at 54 degrees north latitude. File:Кулундинская равнина Орлово Немецкий район.jpg, Kulunda Steppe in Nemetsky National District.

Hydrology

The main rivers are the Kuchuk, Kulunda and Burla. There are large lakes in the central part of the Kulunda plain, such as Lake Kuchuk, Kulunda,

Bolshoye Topolnoye Bolshoye Topolnoye (), meaning "big Populus, poplar", is a lake in Burlinsky District, Altai Krai, Russian Federation.Google Earth The lake lies at the northwestern end of the Krai. A small part of the northwestern shore belongs to the SW corner ...

Ulken Azhbolat Ulken Azhbolat (; , ''Bolshoy Azhbulat'') is a bittern salt lake in Uspen District, Pavlodar Region, Kazakhstan. The lake lies to the NNE of Pavlodar town, north of Uspenka, the district capital, and west of Lozovoye. There are mirabilite ...

Ulken Tobylzhan Ulken Tobylzhan (; , ''Bolshoy Tavolzhan'') is a salt lake in Uspen District, Pavlodar Region, Kazakhstan. The lake lies to the northeast of Pavlodar town and south of Uspenka, the district capital. There is commercial extraction of salt fro ...

, Maraldy and

Bolshoye Yarovoye Bolshoye Yarovoye () is a salt lake in Altai Krai, Russian Federation. Administratively the lake falls within the limits of Slavgorod and Yarovoye municipalities, as well as Tabunsky District.Google Earth The lake is located at the northwester ...

. Most of them are salty or briny, but some are

soda lake A soda lake or alkaline lake is a lake on the strongly base (chemistry), basic side of neutrality, typically with a pH, pH value between 9 and 12. They are characterized by high concentrations of carbonate salts, typically sodium carbonate (and ...

s, such as lakes

Borli Borli () is an alkaline lake in Akkuly District, Pavlodar Region, Kazakhstan. The lake lies to the NNE of Akkuly, the district capital, and about southeast of Pavlodar, the regional capital. Geography Borly is part of the Irtysh basin. It li ...

(

Akkuly District Akkuly (), until 2018 Lebyazhye (, ) is a district of Pavlodar Region in northern Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the selo of Akkuly (, ''Aqquly''; formerly Akku, , ''Aqqu'' (2018-1996); Lebyazhye ( (until 1996)). Popula ...

Pavlodar Region Pavlodar Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. The population of the region was and The latest official estimate (as at the start of 2022) was 756,511. Its capital is the city of Pavlodar, which had a population of 360,014 at the start of 201 ...

Uyaly Uyaly () is an alkaline lake in Akkuly District, Pavlodar Region, Kazakhstan. The lake is located about west of the Russia-Kazakhstan border. The nearest village is Sharbakty to the north. Akkuly, the district capital, lies to the northwe ...

, Bitter (several lakes, Mikhaylovsky district), lake Krivoe or Crooked Lake ( Uglovsky district), Khilganta, the Tanatars soda lakes group, Gorchina 1, Gorchina 3, Petukhovo and Petukhovskoye, Klyuchevskoi district), lake Zhivopisnoe or Picturesque Lake ( Mikhaylovsky district) and many others. File:Borli 2023-04-13-23 59 Sentinel-2 L2A.jpg, Soda lake

(

) File:Zhaltyr 2023-08-18-23 59 Sentinel-2 L2A.jpg, Red lake Kyzyltuz (Akkuly District) in the upper left

Notes

References

External links

* {{Kazakhstan-geo-stub