Balkhash

In the east of Kazakhstan, Balkhash stretches out like a long crescent at an altitude of 340 meters above sea level. The largest lake in the republic remains here from the ancient sea and is now almost equally divided by the Saryesik peninsula into two different parts.

The western part of the lake is shallow, almost fresh, with rather turbid yellowish–gray water, while in the east the lake is deep, salty, transparent, and emerald blue. At the same time, the northern shores of the lake are high (up to 30 meters high!) They are rocky, and in the south they are low and sandy.

The area is about 18,200 km2 (may vary depending on the water level).
The length is about 605 km.
The width ranges from 9-19 km in the western part to 74 km in the eastern part.
The maximum depth is 26.5 m.
The average depth is 5.8 m.
The volume of water is 105 km3.
The coastline is 2385 km long.
The height above sea level is 341.5 m.

Legend has it that the name of the lake was given by the magician Balkhash, who long ago lived in these parts with his beautiful daughter Ili.

Balkhash began to look for a husband for his wife and said that he would give his daughter in marriage only for the best young man – rich, noble, strong and intelligent.

And different suitors began to arrive from all over the world: the son of the Chinese emperor, followed by a string of caravans full of all kinds of goods, and the sons of the Mongol khan led herds of horses loaded with silver, and a young Bukhara merchant with chests of colorful carpets and ivory gizmos was also here. Along with them went to fight for the heart Or a poor guy named Karatal.

Balkhash began to test everyone who came to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. He can't believe his eyes: Karatal is the only one stronger, more agile, and more savvy. Balkhash got angry and chased Karatal away.

Balkhash did not take into account that Ili had seen everything, and that only Karatal was to her heart. The night came and ran away Or left the house after the betrothed Karatal. When Balkhash found out about his daughter's escape, he shouted and stamped his feet. And Balkhash decided: "If you run away, become rivers and flow down." And now the rivers are carrying their swift, stormy waters, and gray-haired Balkhash is beating a wave between them: if the daughter did not listen to her father, then she would not meet her beloved.

Balkhash is amazing not only for its two-face, but also because it is located in a desert area, has no drains and is almost not fed by rain. In summer, the hot sun shines generously over the lake, in autumn Balkhash is buffeted by strong winds, and in winter it calms down under a layer of ice.

Since ancient times, Balkhash fed fish (carp, bream, walleye, asp) – it was not for nothing that the Kazakhs once even called him Balyk as, that is, "fish-food". And in Soviet times, they also began to breed fish here. Due to this, in the 50s, 20 thousand tons of fish were already caught per year, and 10 years later – all 30 tons! But in the 90s, everything changed: the resource reproduction programs were closed, there was no control over poachers, and fish production decreased to 6 tons per year.

However, this is not the only problem of Balkhash. People have long loved the shores of this lake and today it is surrounded on all sides by cities, towns and roads. In the north, in the city of Balkhash, a mining and metallurgical plant smokes through pipes, polluting the water with zinc, copper, and lead. A little further north, copper is mined in the villages of Sayak and Konyrat.

With the flourishing of industry and the construction of the Kapchagai reservoir, Balkhash inexorably began to grind. A little over half a century ago, fishermen first caught walleye here, disfigured by fibrosarcoma, and since then the number of infected fish has been growing every year. Over the past 30 years, the water in the lake has receded by 2-3 meters, and salt marshes have begun to form in place of the bays.

The tragedy of Balkhash is also the fault of neighboring countries, in particular, China. The main artery of the lake is the Ili River, which originates in the Eastern Tien Shan and provides more than 70% of the water flow of Balkhash. For some time now, water has been used by China for irrigation, which takes more than 2 cubic kilometers of water annually. In addition, the area of China where Ili originates is rapidly developing. Oil production is planned here, an increase in the area of crops and, of course, the construction of a large water intake facility. All this will cause even greater shallowing or, as a result, deterioration of the situation in Balkhash.

In order to stop the pollution of Balkhash and the imminent environmental catastrophe, it is necessary to enter into a dialogue and jointly seek ways out of the current situation. The Association of Lake Regions will deal with this. Whatever it was, Balkhash still attracts tourists who want to go fishing or hunting, as well as just see the legendary lake with their own eyes.