Chatkal

(also Karakul’dzha), a river in the Kirghiz and Uzbek SSR’s. Before the construction of the Charvak Reservoir, the Chatkal was the left fork of the Chirchik River (Syr Darya basin). The Chatkal is 223 km long and drains an area of 7,110 sq km. It rises on the southwestern slopes of the Talasskii Alatau and flows through a broad valley with steep slopes; below the place where the Ters empties into it, the Chatkal flows through a deep gorge. The river is fed mainly by snow. It has a mean flow rate of 122 cu m per sec near the mouth; the maximum flow rate is 920 cum per sec.