Lake Balkhash

Where is Lake Balkhash?

Countries on its shores: Kazakhstan.

Middle of the lake: 46.17° N, 74.33° E

The story behind it

Lake Balkhash is about 600 kilometres long, but in the east it is only 9 to 19 kilometres wide. A narrow strait, the Uzynaral, almost cuts it into two parts. The Ili River flows into the western part and brings most of the lake's water. The water in the west is fresh, while the water in the east is salty. No river flows out of the lake, so its water can only leave by evaporating. The size of the lake changes a lot over time. In 1910 it covered about 23 500 km², by 1946 it had shrunk to about 15 700 km², and today it covers about 16 400 km². The lake is shallow, at most 26 metres deep, and every year it freezes from November until early April. The biggest town on its shore is also called Balkhash. It is the largest lake that lies entirely within Kazakhstan.

Find it on the globe

Lake Balkhash is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.