Selety

a river in the Kazakh SSR. The Selety is 407 km long and has a drainage basin with an area of 18,500 sq km, including the closed depressions. Originating in the northern Kazakh Melkosopochnik, it flows over the Western Siberian Lowland and disappears in the marshes along Lake Seletyteniz. During the period of high water, the river reaches the lake; up to 95 percent of the total annual flow occurs during this period. In the summer, the Selety becomes shallow and divides into pools of brackish water. The river is fed by snow; the mean flow rate at the village of Il’inskoe is 5.8 cu m per sec. The river freezes in late October or early November, and the ice breaks up in late March or the first half of April. In the winter, the Selety freezes to the bottom in many places. Its waters are used for irrigation and as a source for general water supply.