Shalkar (; ) is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in Aiyrtau District,

North Kazakhstan Region North Kazakhstan Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan, with a population of 522,171. Its capital is Petropavl, with a population of 221,907 people. It is the only region of Kazakhstan in which ethnic Kazakhs don't make up a majority. History ...

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 ...

. Aiyrtau village lies a little to the south of the southwestern tip of the lake and Shalkar village to the southeast of the eastern tip. There are resorts by the lakeshore.

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 ...

Lake Shalkar is part of the

Kokshetau National Park Kokshetau National Park () features the unique landscape, archaeological sites, and recreational opportunities of the Kazakh Uplands of northern Kazakhstan. Located in the transition zone between the Siberian taiga (to the north) and the southe ...

, a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

.Kokshetau National Park map
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Geography

Shalkar lies in the western sector of the Kokshetau Lakes. It is an elongated lake stretching in an ENE-WSW direction with a

cove A cove is a small bay or coastal inlet. They usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creek (tidal), creeks, or recesses in a coast ...

at the eastern end. The entrance of the cove is wide. The southern shore is steep, with up to high cliffs, while the remaining lakeshore is gently sloping. The bottom of lake Shalkar is flat, with sandy and rocky areas. There are three islets near the eastern shore of the lake. The water is slightly brackish. Lake Imantau is located to the southwest,

Zhamantuz Zhamantuz (; "bad salt") may refer to: *Zhamantuz, Aksu City Administration, a lake in the Aksu City Administration, Pavlodar Region, Kazakhstan *Zhamantuz, Aktogay District, a lake in Aktogay District, Pavlodar Region, Kazakhstan *Zhamantuz (lake, ...

lies to the west, Saumalkol to the northwest and Ulken Koskol to the north. The Koi-Bagir river flows into the lake during the spring floods from the northwestern side. The outflow of lake Shalkar is river Tyun-Tyugur, flowing southwards from the southwestern end.

Lake Shalkar in Kokshetau park
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Flora and fauna

There are forests close to the southern shore of the lake, with

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

and

sea buckthorn ''Hippophae'', from Ancient Greek ἵππος (''híppos''), meaning "horse", and φάος (''pháos''), meaning "light", is a genus of flowering plants in the family Elaeagnaceae. They are deciduous shrubs. They are exceptionally hardy plants, ...

, among other trees and shrubs. From the fish species living in the lake, the

perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...

is autochthonous. The

least cisco ''Coregonus sardinella'', known as the least cisco or the sardine cisco, is a fresh- and brackishwater salmonid fish that inhabits rivers, estuaries and coastal waters of the marginal seas of the Arctic Basin, as well as some large lakes of th ...

peled Peled or Pelled (Hebrew: , "steel") is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Abe Peled, Israeli businessman * Amit Peled * Benny Peled (1928–2002), commander of the Israeli Air Force * Doron A. Peled * Efrat Peled * Elad Pe ...

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

Prussian carp The Prussian carp, silver Prussian carp or Gibel carp (''Carassius gibelio'') is a member of the family Cyprinidae, which includes many other fish, such as the common carp, goldfish, and the smaller minnows. It is a medium-sized cyprinid, and d ...

and

crucian carp The crucian carp (''Carassius carassius'') is a medium-sized member of the common carp family Cyprinidae. It occurs widely in northern European regions. Its name derives from the Low German ''karusse'' or ''karutze'', possibly from Medieval Lat ...

found in lake Shalkar have been introduced.Состояние гидробионтов водоемов особо охраняемых природных территорий республиканского значения северного и центрального Казахстана
/ref>

References

External links

Kokshetau National Park - Central-asia.guideKokshetau National Park - kazakhstan.travel
{{Lakes of Kazakhstan Lakes of North Kazakhstan Region Kazakh Uplands

Geography

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links