Kurgaldzhin

Kurgal’dzhino, a lake in Tselinograd Oblast, Kazakh SSR. Area, 330 sq km. Average depth, 1.6 m; maximum depth, 2 m.

Lake Kurgal’dzhin lies in the vast Tengiz-Kurgal’dzhin sink, at an elevation of 308 m. The northern and eastern shores of the lake are steep. The western and southern shores are gently sloping and grown over with reeds. The lake is fed by snow. The Nura River flows into the lake. In the high-water season (the spring), however, the Nura carries water from Kurgal’dzhin into Lake Tengiz. The mineral content of the water is different in different parts of the lake: it is fresh near the mouth of the Nura, but brackish in the other parts of the lake. Lake Kurgal’dzhin has a wealth of fish, including crucian carp, mirror carp, pike, tench, ide, and perch.