Manych-Gudilo

(also Bol’shoi Manych or Gudilo), a lake in the Kalmyk ASSR, partly on the border of Rostov Oblast and Stavropol’ Krai, RSFSR. The area of the lake varies, the average being 344 sq km. Average depth, 0.6 m. It is located in the center of the Kumo-Manych Depression at an elevation of 10 m and extends from southeast to northwest. Fed by snow, the lake has swampy and overgrown shores. Water levels are highest from March to May and lowest from October to December. Lake Manych-Gudilo is salty; in the spring it is somewhat fresher although still brackish. The lake is icebound for 2½ months on the average, although it does not freeze every year. To the south-east, at an elevation of 11 m, lie the salty Lake Manych (Malyi Manych), with an area of 78.8 sq km, and the bitter salty Lake Manych, with an area of 10.7 sq km.