The Ulkayak (; ) is a river in

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 catchment area of .''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 It is one of the rivers of the southern part of the

Turgay Depression The Turgay Depression, also known as Turgay Basin, Turgay Trough, and Turgay Hollow (; ), is a structural basin in Kazakhstan.ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

.Irgyz - Turgai — Freshwater Ecoregions of the World
/ref> It flows across the

Zhangeldi District Zhangeldi (, ) is a district of Kostanay Region in northern Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the selo of Torgay. Population: Geography Lakes Kushmurun and Sarykopa are located in the district. There are also numerous ...

of the

Kostanay Region Kostanay Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. Its administrative center is the city of Kostanay. The population of the region is 835,686. The population living in Kostanay is 207,000 which is equivalent to 23% of the region. Geography Kosta ...

, Kazakhstan.

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 ...

There are historical Kazakh sites in the valley of the Ulkayak.Excursion bus tours in Kazakhstan - silkadv.com
/ref>Экспедиция на Улькаяк © e-history.kz
/ref>

Course

The Ulkayak is formed at the confluence of rivers Zhantai (Жантай) and Tolybai (Толыбай). The river flows first southwestwards across

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

territory within a flat valley. It cuts across some gorges along its course, the longest of which is . Towards its last stretch its valley widens and the river

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...

s heading roughly southwards. Finally it flows into the Kyzylkol, a

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...

which is connected with the Turgay through a system of lakes linked by channels. The water of the river is fresh, but it turns brackish in the summer, when the river dries in stretches and its flow almost stops.

Tributaries

The long Kabyrga and the long Karabutak are the main tributaries of the Ulkayak. The river freezes yearly between early November and late March. Its main food is snow.

References

External links

Экспедиция на Улькаяк - YouTubeFishing in the Ulkayak river
{{Rivers of Kazakhstan Rivers of Kazakhstan Kostanay Region Shalkarteniz basin

Course

Tributaries

See also

References

External links