The Turgay (
orɣai"Tour-GUY") (also known as Torgai, Torghay or Turgai; kk, Торғай,
Romanised: ''Torğai''; russian: Тургай
Romanised: ''Turgay'') is a river in
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...
.
[Тургай](_blank)
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...
It has a length of and a drainage basin of .
The
Naurzum Nature Reserve
Naurzum State Nature Reserve ( kk, Наурызым мемлекеттік табиғи қорығы, ) is a nature reserve in Kostanay Region, Kazakhstan. It is part of the UNESCO heritage site Saryarka — Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhsta ...
is a
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
located in the river basin.
Course
The river originates at the confluence of the Zhaldama and Kara-Turgai rivers, which have their sources in the
Kazakh Uplands
The Kazakh Uplands ( kk, Сарыарқа, ''Saryarqa'' - "Yellow Ridge", russian: Казахский мелкосопочник, Kazakhskiy Melkosopochnik), also known as the Kazakh Hummocks, is a large peneplain formation extending throughout t ...
. It then flows along the
Turgay Depression. The Turgay disappears in the
endorheic basin
An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into la ...
of
Shalkarteniz.
The
Ubagan, a tributary of the
Tobol, drains the valley to the north, the Turgay to the south. There are many shallow, often salty lakes in the valley. In the summer it dries up and its water becomes salty in the lower reaches of certain sections. The river is mostly fed by snow. It freezes in November and thaws in April.
[Тургайская ложбина](_blank)
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...
[Тургай](_blank)
''Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...
'' in 30 vols. — Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov
Alexander Mikhailovich Prokhorov (born Alexander Michael Prochoroff, russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Про́хоров; 11 July 1916 – 8 January 2002) was an Australian-born Soviet-Russian physicist known ...
. - 3rd ed. - M. Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978. (in Russian)
Tributaries
The main tributaries of the Turgay are the long
Irgiz, the long
Kara-Turgay and the Kobarga on the left, as well as the Zhaldama, Tokanay and
Ulkayak on the right. In years of high water the long
Saryozen river may flow across lake
Sarykopa into the Turgay through a channel near
Tauysh village.
[''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]
See also
*
List of rivers of Kazakhstan
*
Lakes of the lower Turgay and Irgiz
References
Rivers of Kazakhstan
Shalkarteniz basin
{{Kazakhstan-river-stub