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Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia and is both one of the largest (by area) and most sparsely populated countries in the world. Towards the eastern part of the country sits Lake Balkhash, which is one of the largest lakes on the continent after the Caspian Sea (which is controversially considered a lake) and Lake Baikal in Russia.
Despite the entire lake being located within the borders of Kazakhstan, most of inflow originates from China’s far west Xinjiang region.
See the interactive Google Map at the bottom of the post!
Three key facts about this map
Lake Balkhash is about half freshwater, half saltwater
Okay – its not exactly 50%/50%. Based on volume, the freshwater portion of the lake (western side) represents 46% while the saltwater portion (eastern side) represents 54%…this is one of the only instances of a single lake with both a fresh and saline portion. The major inflow to the Balkhash is the Ili River, which originates in China and brings fresh water into the western/freshwater portion of the lake.
There is a clear geographic divide that separates the two halves of Lake Balkhash named the Saryesik Peninsula. The saltwater half of the lake does not have any major in-flows like the Ili and the separation, along with the depth of the lake, maintains its higher salinity.
Lake Balkhash is shrinking due to its sources being diverted
In recent years, irrigation & hydroelectric projects diverted and shored up the main source for Lake Balkhash, the Ili River. Specifically, further up-river on the Ili is the Qapshaghay Dam, part of a larger hydroelectric power station to help power Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan. When the dam was originally built, the flow of fresh water to Lake Balkhash diminished significantly to an average depth of just 7 feet. Also, because the main inflow of fresh water was from the Ili River, the salinity level of Lake Balkhash increased a considerable amount.
The future of Lake Balkhash is a prickly point in China-Kazakhstan relations
The headwaters of the Ili River are located in the Xinjiang region of China, and the river basin is one of the most-fertile parts of the region. The Chinese are apparently looking to use the Ili River to irrigate farmland in the Chinese portion of the river to fuel agricultural development – which spells trouble for water levels in Lake Balkhash downstream. Recently (in 2021) there have been protests in Kazakh cities against Chinese development within the country, and while the development plans on the Ili River upstream are technically within China, they represent moves by China that are negatively impacting Kazakh people.
Additional links and sources
- Historical information about Lake Balkhash (link)
- Background summary behind recent tensions between China & Kazakhstan, and its impact on Lake Balkhash (link, article from 2021)
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