Sarez Lake

a lake in the Pamirs, in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, Tadzhik SSR. Sarez Lake lies between the Severo-Alichur and Muzkol ranges at an elevation of 3,239 m. It covers an area of 86.5 sq km and measures approximately 75 km long and up to 3.4 km wide. The average depth is 190 m, and the maximum depth, 505 m. Sarez Lake was formed in 1911, when the material in an earthquake-caused landslide dammed the Murgab River. The lake is fed primarily by glaciers. The water level fluctuates by about 6 m. Sarez Lake freezes in late December or the first half of January; the ice breaks up between late March and May.