Lake Chany

Where is Lake Chany?

Countries on its shores: Russia.

Middle of the lake: 54.88° N, 77.50° E

The story behind it

Lake Chany is very shallow: on average only about 2 metres deep. Because it is so flat, the wind can whip up strong storms, and they happen often. From late October until May the lake is covered with ice. Most of its water comes from the Chulym River and its side river, the Kargat, mainly when the snow melts in spring. The lake is linked to smaller lakes such as Malye Chany and Yarkul. It once covered between 1 990 and 2 600 km², depending on the water level. In 1972 a dam was built across the lake. Since then its western part, the Yudinsky Reach, has largely dried up, and today the lake covers about 1 700 km². Fishers catch pike, perch, carp and Siberian roach. Many migrating birds stop here, so the lake is protected as an important wetland.

Find it on the globe

Lake Chany 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.