Lake Balkhash

Lake Balkhash (Балқаш көлі, Balqaş kölı, bɑlqɑɕ kwʏlɪ; ozero Balkhash) is a lake in southeastern Kazakhstan, one of the largest lakes in Asia and the 15th largest in the world. It is located in the eastern part of Central Asia and sits in the Balkhash-Alakol Basin, an endorheic (closed) basin. The basin drains seven rivers, the primary of which is the Ili, bringing most of the riparian inflow; others, such as the Karatal, bring surface and subsurface flow. The Ili is fed by precipitation, largely vernal snowmelt, from the mountains of China's Xinjiang region. The lake currently covers about . However, like the Aral Sea, it is shrinking due to diversion and extraction of water from its feeders. The lake has a narrow, quite central, strait. The lake's western part is fresh water. The lake's eastern half is saline. The east is on average 1.7 times deeper than the west. The largest shore city is named Balkhash and has about 66,000 inhabitants. Main local economic activities include mining, ore processing and fishing. There is concern about the lake's shallowing due to desertification of microclimates and water extraction for multiplied industrial output. The present name of the lake originates from the word "balkas" of Tatar, Kazakh and Southern Altai languages which means "tussocks in a swamp". From as early as 103 BC up until the 8th century, the Balkhash polity surrounding the lake, whose Chinese name was Yibohai 夷播海, was known to the Chinese as 布谷/布庫/布蘇 "Bugu/Buku/Busu." From the 8th century on, the land to the south of the lake, between it and the Tian Shan mountains, was known in Turkic as Jetisu "Seven Rivers" (Semirechye in Russian). It was a land where the nomadic Turks and Mongols of the steppe mingled cultures with the settled peoples of Central Asia. During China's Qing dynasty (1636–1912), the lake formed the northwesternmost boundary of the empire. In 1864, the lake and its neighboring area were ceded to the Russian Empire under the Treaty of Tarbagatai. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the lake became part of Kazakhstan.